And all this time you thought the employees who took you into the safe-deposit area were just trying not to look nosy by turning their backs when you opened your box right there instead of in a private room. Nope, they turn away because
they don't want to know what you're putting in or taking out of that metal box.
That's probably just as well because what does get put into safe-deposit boxes might make the bankers a little nervous.
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If you told me there's a list (of things not allowed in a safe-deposit box) I could probably blow it full of holes based on what we see here," says Rick Sweet, vault supervisor at Florida's unclaimed property division of the state's Banking and Finance department.
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We get between a dozen and three dozen handguns each year, ammunition, human and pet remains -- ashes, drug paraphernalia and sometimes what looks like drugs or drug residue."
Sweet sees what's in safe-deposit boxes that have been abandoned. In addition to guns, ammo and cremains, Sweet says 5 percent to 10 percent of the boxes have substantial cash -- $5,000 or more.
That blows a hole in a popular misconception -- that it's illegal to keep cash in a safe-deposit box.