Anonymous Donors Across the Country Are Dropping Valuable Coins Into the Salvation Army’s Red Kettles

January 9, 2025

Red Salvation Army kettles and volunteers ringing bells in front of stores to raise money for charity have been a holiday season tradition for more than 130 years.

Smithsonian Magazine reports that each year amidst the shoppers and donors dropping spare change into the kettles, anonymous donors quietly donate valuable coins–often worth hundreds or thousands of dollars.

This year, the generous and unexpected donations have been discovered in at least 11 states including Illinois, Arizona, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, California, Kansas, South Dakota, Oregon and North Dakota.

According to the Salem Reporter, over Thanksgiving weekend in Oregon, an anonymous donor slipped a 1927 $20 double eagle gold coin worth nearly $2600 into the bucket.

Meanwhile, the San Francisco Chronicle reports that volunteers in Napa Valley, California discovered a gold South African Krugerrand coin worth thousands of dollars among the donations they collected.

Likewise, in Washington County Pennsylvania, Salvation Army volunteers found an Elizabeth II coin worth $2700, wrapped inside a dollar bill. This marks the fourth year in a row that a gold coin has been found in one of the group’s local kettles.

Volunteers in Phoenix, Arizona found a half ounce gold American eagle coin worth $1310 and anonymous donors in Fargo, North Dakota slipped no less than five gold coins into the collection kettles during November.

The Salvation Army’s red kettle tradition dates back to 1891 when one of the group’s leaders, Joseph McFee, raised money to purchase a Christmas dinner for 1,000 of San Francisco’s poorest residents.

Photo: top, Credit: Salvation Army