Diamond ring, $1,000 bill among items up for grabs at unclaimed property auction in Orlando

A rare $1,000 bill is just one of the items that will be up for auction in Orlando this weekend.

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Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis announced Thursday the Florida Unclaimed Property Auction will take place in Orlando Saturday.

A preview of the auction items will take place at 9 a.m. Friday with the actual auction scheduled to begin at the same time the next day.

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It will be held live at the Holiday Inn & Suites across from Universal Orlando at 5916 Caravan Court. Members of the public are encouraged to attend and participate.

The most common types of unclaimed property are bank accounts that have been left dormant, unclaimed insurance proceeds, uncashed checks, deposits, and refunds. The contents of abandoned safe-deposit boxes can also end up on the unclaimed property list.

The assets are typically held for five years before they’re turned over to the Division of Unclaimed Property.

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Some of the items slated for auction Saturday include a platinum ring with an emerald-cut diamond valued at nearly $2,000, and a rare 1934 $1,000 bill valued at $1,300.

“I’m excited to kick off our unclaimed property auction in Orlando this weekend with some outstanding items to bid on,” Patronis said in a statement announcing the auction. “The proceeds generated by this auction are used to help fund education in Florida.”

For more information, including a list of all the items up for auction, click here.

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Unclaimed property owners can still claim the value of the items at any time up until they’re auctioned. According to the Department of Financial Services, one out of every five Floridians has unclaimed funds.

Since becoming CFO in 2017, Patronis says he’s returned more than $2 billion in unclaimed property to the rightful owners.

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