GREENSBORO, N.C. — As we get ready to see January 1, 2021, come in, a North Carolina man is grateful he has a family heirloom from January 1, 1915, in his hands
This watch belonged to his grandfather who gave it to him. The watch was put in a bank deposit box for safekeeping, but when the man showed up with just a key to claim it, the bank said he needs more proof than just the key. Eventually, the watch ended up in the NC State Treasury Vault of Unclaimed Property.
“Someone saw the watch appear on our website from all the claims we have. Whether it's an heirloom like a watch that was signed by President Woodrow Wilson I believe or WWII medals that were missing for more of a decade that we gave out this year, this is the more gratifying part of the job of being the keeper of the public purse,” said Dale Folwell, NC State Treasurer.
The watch is from Tiffany & Co. and is worth $8,000! Check out what else is there in the vault, collectible Elvis stamps, antique jewelry boxes, and a car, just to name a few items. There are 17-million items in unclaimed property totaling $919,000,000.
But it's not just property, it's cash too. So far, the amount of unclaimed cash paid out is up 53% from last year with nearly $24,000,000 paid out. Do you have unclaimed cash? Even the Carolina Panthers did!
“Last week I presented the money to the Panthers who had cash from NCCASH.com we and presented what we gave them and they paid it forward to a domestic violence charity. We found the domestic violence charity had cash from NCCASH.com as well as three of the five reporters who were covering the story,” said Folwell.
Seriously, all those people had money. Maybe you do too!
The state started a new program where anything under $250 is mailed out directly. First, you’ll get a letter stating the amount. If the letter doesn’t get returned to the state, your award is automatically sent. You can always check for unclaimed cash or property at NCCASH.com. Remember, it is free to claim your cash. Never pay a third party to claim your cash for you.