Holders of Series H or HH savings bonds, which pay interest currently, should also check the Treasury Search Web site to look for interest payments returned to Public Debt as undeliverable. The most common cause for a payment to be returned is when a customer changes bank accounts or address and doesn't give Public Debt new delivery instructions.

Series E bonds sold from May of 1941 through November of 1965 earn interest for 40 years. Bonds sold from December of 1965 on earn interest for 30 years. So, bonds issued in February of 1961 and earlier have stopped earning interest as have bonds issued between December of 1965 and February of 1971.

Public Debt has a number of employees assigned to a special locator group that finds owners of undeliverable payments and bonds. Each year they locate and deliver several millions of dollars in returned interest payments and thousands of previously undeliverable bonds to their owners. Treasury Hunt adds to the effectiveness, not to mention the fun, of this effort by making it easy for the public to check and see if they've got a bond or payment waiting for them.

When the books closed on Feb. 8, 2001, the U.S. public debt stood at $5,697,248,248,419.78. (Source: U.S. Bureau of the Public Debt.)

Good luck at Treasury Hunt!