The state plans to auction off treasures from hundreds of unclaimed safe deposit boxes next week in Salem.

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An auctioneer sells items in last year's sale.

Financial institutions are required to turn over the boxes’ contents to the state when the owners fail to make rental payments and can’t be located.

Last year, the auction raised more than $90,000.

"A little bit of everything" is how Cyndi Wickham, unclaimed property manager at the Department of State Lands described the contents of the upcoming 2008 auction. "We're offering some nice coins and jewelry as well as collectible stamps and sports trading cards."

The public auction is scheduled for Jan. 26 at Parrish Middle School in Salem, located at 802 Capitol St. NE. It will begin 9:30 a.m. but shoppers can preview the auction items on Friday, Jan. 25, between 3 and 7 p.m.

It takes about two years before the items even make it to auction.

“Unclaimed property staff looks for owners by posting their names on DSL's searchable database on the Web and by performing some specialized individual searches,” Wickham explained.

Proceeds from the auctions are held in trust in the Common School Fund (CSF), and made available for claim by rightful owners at any time in the future. The CSF provides funding for all of Oregon's K-12 public schools through twice-yearly distributions. In 2007, nearly $50 million was sent to Oregon's 198 public school districts.

For additional information, including an auction catalog, call 1-800-866-8567 or check the Department of State Lands Web site.