The state reaped a record amount of money with its auction of unclaimed property Aug. 4 in Orlando. The Bureau of Unclaimed Property raised more than $817,000 through the sale of 534 lots.

The state’s Chief Financial Officer, Alex Sink, said the auction served a dual purpose.

“Not only did we raise a record-breaking $800,000 for Florida school children, we also raised awareness about the Bureau’s mission of reuniting Floridians with their unclaimed property,” said Sink.

The most expensive item was a 3.3-carat diamond that sold for $22,000, more than double its reserve price of $9,500.

The state receives items that have been abandoned in safety deposit boxes for at least three years and then spends up to two years trying to locate the owners. In the past year the Bureau returned more than $171 million worth of items from 255,000 accounts.

The money raised by the auctions goes to the state’s Public School Trust Fund.

Posted: 08|8|07 at 7:52 pm. Filed under: US News.