From Cop Cars to Curiosities: Montana’s 2025 State Surplus Auction

Montanans love a good auction. Go to any charity event, and you'll witness the friendly competitiveness among bidders, particularly if it's a room full of cowboys drinking whiskey.

People like auctions for lots of reasons. Bargains can be had, and an auction is typically a prime example of "something is only worth what someone else is willing to pay"... the old supply and demand thing playing out in real time. Another fun thing about auctions is that you'll often find some really interesting stuff (like the pics at the end of this article).

When I was a kid, my parents would take us to estate/farm auctions, and my siblings and I loved rooting around in the boxes of junk antiques, collectibles, and other items my folks would bring home with their winning bids.

Auctions have largely moved online.

Cattle auctions remain mostly in-person events, but other auctions (whether it's cars, art, collectables, or estate sales) are typically online nowadays. These online auctions can obviously reach a larger audience of bidders, and are quite easy to participate in from the comfort of your keyboard.

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The 2025 State of Montana Surplus Property Auction starts 9/13.

I'm not currently in the market for anything, but when I saw this show up in my Facebook feed today, I couldn't resist clicking the link. Someone had shared the details about the State of Montana Surplus Property Auction, and I just knew there had to be some interesting things up for grabs. I was not disappointed.

More used cop cars than you can shake a stick at.

I expected to find plenty of former patrol cruisers at this auction, and there are. If you're "that guy" (or girl) who's always wanted an old cop car, here is your chance. There are over 200 pickup trucks, sedans, and SUVs from various state agencies hitting the auction block.

What about the weirder stuff?

When you think about it, the State is kind of like a huge, diverse business. There's the highway department, the forestry division, IT, crime and investigation departments,  wildlife departments, and much more. Browsing the auction, hosted by Pate Auctions Inc., it looks like you'll find treasures from nearly every branch of Montana.gov.

See some of the more unique items I found in the photo gallery below, or browse through the 800+ lots HERE. The online auction begins September 13 and runs through September 27th. All items are located in Helena.