Whenever the contents of any such safe or box, so opened, shall consist either wholly or in part, of documents or letters or other papers of a private nature, such documents, letters, or papers shall not be sold, but shall be deposited with the department of revenue as unclaimed property unless sooner claimed by the owner. The department may hold or destroy documents or letters or other papers, and the holder shall not be held liable to any person or persons whatsoever for the destruction of papers or other contents which the department declines to accept.

The provision of this section shall not preclude any other remedy by action or otherwise now existing for the enforcement of the claims of a corporation against the person in whose name such safe or box stood, nor bar the right of a safe deposit company to recover so much of the debt due it as shall not be paid by the proceeds of the sale of the property deposited with it. The sale or disposition of property in accordance with this chapter shall discharge the holder of all liability to the owner for such sale or disposition, irrespective of whether a better price could have been obtained by a sale at a different time or in a different method from that selected by the holder.