State treasurer receives 1,200 safe deposit boxes

The contents of more than 1,200 safe deposit boxes have been sent to State Treasurer Clint Zweifel's office to await being claimed by owners or heirs.

Among the items found inside the deposit boxes - sent by more than 100 banks - are 19th century Bank of St. Louis currency, a tortoise shell baby rattle, gold coins and military memorabilia, according to a news release.

Items in the treasurer's unclaimed property vaults can be claimed online at ShowMeMoney.com. The state treasurer's office receives property if there has been no documented transaction or contact with the owner for five or more years.

Assets handled by the treasurer's unclaimed property division also include cash from bank accounts, stocks and bonds.

"Safe deposit boxes are a small part of the more than $600 million in unclaimed property I hold, but the contents we find in the boxes often share some of the most interesting stories, including family Bibles, land grants and more," Zweifel said in the release. "No matter what it is, I always return it free of charge.”

The average unclaimed property account returned is $350, and one in 10 Missouri citizens have claimable property, according to the release.

In the southwest Missouri region, approximately $32 million is available to be claimed in more than 340,000 accounts. The region comprises Greene, Barry, Barton, Cedar, Christian, Dade, Dallas, Douglas, Hickory, Howell, Jasper, Laclede, Lawrence, McDonald, Newton, Oregon, Ozark, Polk, Shannon, St. Clair, Stone, Taney, Texas, Vernon, Webster and Wright counties.

Since taking office in January 2009, Zweifel has returned more than $72 million in unclaimed property to more than 200,000 account owners, according to the release.[[In-content Ad]]