All canceled bonds, notes and interest coupons of the State may be destroyed in one of the following ways, in the discretion of the Treasurer:
After this entry has been made, the paid bonds, notes or coupons shall be destroyed, by either burning or shredding, in the presence of the Council of State. Each member of the Council of State in attendance shall certify under his hand in the book kept by the Treasurer that he saw the bonds, notes or coupons destroyed. Canceled bonds, notes or coupons shall not be destroyed until after one year from the date of payment.
The provisions of G.S. 121-5 and 132-3 shall not apply to any such paid bonds, notes or coupons.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, in lieu of destroying all canceled bonds, notes and interest coupons, the Treasurer is authorized, with the approval of the Council of State, to distribute the bonds, notes, and coupons to the public schools of North Carolina and to the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources to be used for educational and historical purposes. The Department of Public Instruction and the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources may cooperate and assist in implementing such purposes.
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 142-13