Pennsylvania Treasury Auctions 4,000 Unclaimed Items, Including Diamond Jewelry, March 25

Tucked inside the Pennsylvania Treasury's vault, an 18K yellow gold wristwatch has been waiting. Its twelve single-cut diamonds, graded G color and I1 clarity, total just .06 carats — modest by weight, but paired with synthetic rubies and set into 27.30 pennyweights of gold, it is the kind of piece that tells a story of someone's deliberate taste. On March 25, it goes up for bid alongside more than 4,000 other unclaimed items in an online auction conducted by Pook & Pook of Downingtown.

Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity announced the auction on March 9, offering what she called a first-ever public preview of highlighted lots. "For the first time ever, we're sharing an exclusive sneak peek to help spark excitement for our upcoming auction," Garrity said. "Take a look at just a few of the great items that will be up for auction later this month, which I'm sure will catch someone's eye."

The jewelry lots represent only a fraction of what's available. A 14K gold American Waltham pocket watch carrying a single diamond weighs in at 23.5 pennyweights. A 14K yellow gold and lapis necklace, at 3.00 pennyweights, comes paired with a matching 14K yellow gold lapis bracelet at 2.50 pennyweights. For collectors drawn more to numismatics than gemology, a 1908 $20 Double Eagle Saint-Gaudens gold coin rounds out the preview highlights.

Most of these objects arrived at the Treasury through abandoned or forgotten safe deposit boxes, though Garrity noted that some tangible items also come from police evidence lockers. Under state law, the Treasury must hold each item for at least three years while actively attempting to locate the rightful owner before it can move to auction. "Any item up for auction has been in Treasury's care, stored securely in our vault for at least three years while we worked to find the rightful owner," Garrity said. "We must auction items to make room for new incoming property."

Crucially, a sale does not extinguish a prior owner's claim. All proceeds are documented by the Treasury and remain available to the rightful owner indefinitely. "The money will be there in perpetuity for that owner," Garrity said. The auction catalog may shift before March 25 if new information surfaces about an item's authenticity or estimated value, so prospective bidders should check the live listings on pookandpook.com before placing a bid. Treasury employees and their immediate family members are barred from participating.

The scale of Pennsylvania's unclaimed property program gives these auctions their context. The Treasury is currently working to return more than $5 billion owed to more than one in ten Pennsylvanians, with the average claim exceeding $1,000 in value. Since Garrity took office, more than $1 billion has been returned to individuals, businesses, nonprofits, and local government agencies, including a record $334.1 million in 2025 alone. "We seem to be hitting new records all the time," Garrity said.

The March 25 auction is one of two the Treasury holds annually. Anyone who suspects Pennsylvania may be holding property in their name can search at patreasury.gov/unclaimed-property. Those who want to bid can register through pookandpook.com. For a wristwatch with a dozen small diamonds and a history no one yet knows, the auction floor may be only the beginning of its next chapter.