
SPRINGFIELD (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - Perhaps you have heard of the state treasurer’s unclaimed property program, or even run your name through the database on the treasurer’s website.
But, the action of an auction during the fun at the fair is meant to clear Treasurer Mike Frerichs’ vault of things which are taking up space after ten years or more. Money and other treasures, which have turned up in, say, forgotten safe deposit boxes are transferred to the treasurer’s office.
“We have sold things that, eventually, children or surviving spouses or heirs have come (later) to collect, and we have been able to pay them the amount it sold for, even sometimes with a little bit of interest,” Frerichs said during a preview Tuesday in Springfield.
Jewelry, coins, and baseball cards are perennials, but this year’s booty includes a $500 bill from 1934, featuring former President William McKinley.
Frerichs confessed McKinley is not his favorite president, but said the currency is an awfully interesting item.
The auction is Saturday, August 20, at 11 a.m. on the fairgrounds’ Lincoln Stage.
Listen to WBBM Newsradio now on Audacy!