Except as provided in Code Section 44-14-411.1, any property in the possession of an involuntary, gratuitous, or naked depository, which property remains unclaimed or unidentified or the reasonable expense incurred in connection with which remains unpaid for the period of two months from the time the property came into the possession of the depository, may be sold at public auction to the highest bidder at such time and place as may be designated by the depository; provided, however, that the depositories shall publish a notice containing a general description of the property and the time and place of sale once a week for two successive weeks prior to the date of the sale in a newspaper of general circulation in the place of the sale or the nearest place thereto.