Earlier this year I found a gift card in the parking lot of my apartment complex. I picked it up and posted a note in the apartment billboard that I had found a gift card and I would be willing to give it back to it's rightful owner. But only if they could tell me what store it was from. To my surprise nobody claimed it, I had it stored away in a safe place and to be honest I forgot about it. After doing some organizing this past weekend I came across the gift card. I had never called to hear the balance before ( I didn't want to be tempted by it) so I called and come to find out it has 75.00 bucks on it.

So...
1. After 9 months nobody has claimed the gift card
2. Obviously the original owner lost or doesn't have the purchase receipt, because they could have had the gift card canceled.

So, I'm wondering if it is within my rights legally to use this gift card?

Merry Christmas to you! You took reasonable steps in my opinion!

imho, youve done more than most. so now make most of what youve found

Is this even possible? This would make the receipt as valuable as the card itself - if you find a gift card receipt, you could cancel a card and/or have it reissued or refunded? That doesn't make sense to me. Gift cards are like cash and usually indicate such on the back.

As far as your situation, I'd say you did about as much as you could do. One tip--some gift cards incur a small monthly charge after a certain period of inactivity. Since you haven't used the card in a while, you may want to use it quickly or inquire if there would be any pending charges of this nature if you don't use it immediately.

Some stores allow you to cancel/replace a card (Lost or stolen policy) if you have the original receipt, or if you purchased the gift card with a credit card.

Agreed....you've gone above and beyond.
It was probably within your rights the minute you found it, unless you saw it drop from someone's pocket. Gift cards usually say "treat it like cash".

Since there's $75 on there, if you really want to ease your conscience, when you treat yourself, throw in something to donate to a charity. Maybe a kid's movie or toy or something. Keep that karma flowin', you know?