PHOTO GALLERY: Missouri State Treasury holds auction

September 19, 2012 | 8:37 p.m. CDT

The Missouri State Treasurer held an unclaimed property auction Wednesday at the Hilton Garden Inn in Columbia. Currency, coins and jewelry made up the bulk of the items up for auction, and bids ranged from $1 up into the thousands.

Ringman Steve Maynes, foreground, keeps track of bidders as reader Jill Burke, left, auctioneer Jeff Johnston and clerk Connie Morgan facilitate the Missouri State Treasury’s unclaimed property auction held Wednesday at the Hilton Garden Inn in Columbia. Bids ranged from $1 up into the thousands, with one diamond ring, thought to be four to five karats in size, selling for $7,600. | Benjamin Hoste

Tammy Pettit, an auction attendant with the Missouri State Treasury, displays a Confederate $5 bill at the Missouri State Treasury’s unclaimed property auction. Currency, coins and jewelry made up the bulk of the items up for auction. | Benjamin Hoste

Ricky Jones examines coins with a magnifying lens at the third annual Missouri State Treasury’s unclaimed property auction. Along with his sister Sharon Watts, Jones traveled from St. Louis to attend the auction and was mostly interested in coins and jewelry. | Benjamin Hoste