While you’re out buying gifts for everyone on your nice list, chances are you’ll come across a sure sign that Christmas is fast approaching: A Salvation Army bell ringer and one of their iconic red kettles. Most of us will drop in whatever spare change we can quickly dig out of our pockets as we rush by. But for some passerby, the red kettles present an opportunity to play secret Santa in the most generous ways.
Over the years, substantial red kettle donations from anonymous donors have come in many interesting forms. Here are just a few of the valuable oddities that have filled those red buckets in recent years:
Diamonds are a kettle’s best friend?
2011: A worker at a Salvation Army collection center in Shawnee, Kansas noticed a wadded-up piece of paper lying among the coins and bills. He almost threw it in the trash, but decided to open it to be safe. He was astonished to discover that a solitary diamond had been tucked inside. The identity of the generous donor was never found.
To have and to hold….
2011: An engagement ring and wedding band, along with an appraisal, were tucked inside a dollar bill and anonymously slipped into a red kettle outside a grocery store in Henderson, North Carolina. The donor was never identified.
2014: In Cambridge, Massachusetts, a widow placed her engagement ring and wedding band into a kettle with a note saying that the donation was in honor her late husband, who was a “giver.” Another widow later purchased them from the Salvation Army for $21,000 — far more than their appraised value — and returned the rings to the original donor.
A long lost treasure
2016: In Sebastian, Florida, an unidentified passerby placed a 300-year-old gold escudo directly into the hands of the bell ringer. The coin, worth several thousand dollars, had been recovered off the Florida coast from the wrecks of Spanish treasure ships known as the 1715 Plate Fleet. The donor didn’t want to drop the rare treasure into the kettle because he feared it would get mixed in with the other loose coins.
Cold hard cash
2015: A very generous donor dropped a $10,000 check into a red kettle in Jacksonville, FL.
2014: A mysterious donor dropped bundles of ten $100 bills at a time into kettles all over the Minneapolis area, totaling over $14,000.
Silver Bells (“bars”?)
2015: In Syracuse, New York, The Salvation Army received a donation that was too big to fit into a kettle – a 100-ounce silver bar valued around $1,600. The generous donor wished to remain anonymous and was never identified.
Putting their money where their mouth is
2014: Among the most unusual items found in red kettles so far, Salvation Army spokesmen in both Florida and Missouri reported receiving gold teeth in the same year. An anonymous person put four gold teeth in an Orlando kettle, while another donated a single gold tooth in Kansas City.
Worth their weight in gold
The first time a Salvation Army organization reported a gold coin donation was in 1982, when an anonymous donor dropped a Krugerrand into a red kettle north of Chicago. According to legend, the benevolent donor was a World War II veteran who wanted to give something in return for the charity’s service that he received on the front line. Today, Krugerrands and other types of gold coins show up in the Salvation Army’s red kettles all across the country each year, providing solid gold evidence that there is indeed a Santa Claus. For example:
Since 1998: In Fort Collins, Colorado, a pair of 1-ounce gold Krugerrands were slipped into red kettles by the same anonymous donor for almost two decades. The undercover giver always returned later to The Salvation Army to buy back the coins at $1,000 more than their value. Notes and poems in the same handwriting were often attached to the donations, until 2002 – when the coins were accompanied by a note stating that the decades-long secret Santa had died, but the tradition would be continued yearly by the family in his or her honor. And it hasn’t stopped since.
2018: This year, gold coins worth several thousands of dollars have already been anonymously dropped into Salvation Army kettles around the Chicago metro area, including several Gold American Eagles and Gold Krugerrands.
Which brings us to….
Our December giveaway!
We would love to hear about a unique gifting experience you’ve had during the holiday season. Tell us about a time you enjoyed playing “Santa” to put a smile on a special someone’s face, or received the perfect gift at just the right time from an anonymous giver. We may share a story or two on our Facebook page, as well!
Commenting below will serve as your entry for our December giveaway. Submit your comment (one comment only please) by December 31st, and one winner will be randomly selected on January 1st to receive an Argor-Heraeus 1 gram gold bar! Whether you decide to keep it or play secret Santa with it is up to you!
*(No Scrooges allowed! Inappropriate comments will be deleted and disqualified.)
Happy new year
Cool story about the Salvation Army donations
I love goooooooold
Not precious metals but just a few days ago I came across someone on the net who lost the coin you receive after becoming a US Airman. Somewhere sometime somehow (Probably an Air Force Dormitory washer or dryer) I picked an extra one up which at the time I must have assumed was mine. Anyways, since I had two I was able to give away one. I hear it really made his day, because again, the only place you ever get one naturally is after graduating Basic training. 🙂 He should have received it in the mail today.
Some gold to ring in the new year! Woo-hoo
I received my grandfather’s high school class ring, from my father when I graduated.
This will be an excellent complement to my gun safe’s interior. Blued steel, gold, silver, copper and chrome. All my favorite colors.
I had nothing but a wonderful experience with Provident Metals in 2018, and I am looking forward to trading even more with you guys in the future, happy new year!
Would love to add some gold to my collection and brighten things up just like 2019!
Gramtastic!
Nice!
Feeling like Yukon Cornelius!
I collected toy/children’s clothes donations with a coworker a few years ago to fill the back of our ambulance parked on Main St. to donate to a local charity. I met a lot nice, caring people. I wish we would do this again for our community.
Happy New Year !
My nephews always get silver for Christmas every year. They really liked the Aztec rounds this year.
I’d like to ring in the new year with some gold!
Happy New Year
Look how pretty….. I’d love it
I would love to own some gold. That would be a great start to the new year!!
Precious metals at Christmas time are always a gracious gift!
During the year I play the claw machines at local retailers. I fill 33 gallon trash bags with stuffed toys. Last trip to Children’s Mercy the first week of December was 4 bags.
This was about ten years ago, before I had kids. I found out one of my coworker’s sons, who had three young kids, had just lost his job and was not going to be able to afford Christmas that year. They also desperately needed new tires on their car so that his wife could get to work. I quickly organized a “giving event” throughout work asking for money donations for this sweet family. We collected enough money to get them new tires and to give them a very good Christmas, complete with Santa delivering their gifts to them in person on Christmas Eve. That was such an amazing experience that I will never forget.
Nice but I never win
Have a Happy and prosperous New Year.
Happy New Year! Thanks for the opportunity. Entered and shared. 🙂
I don’t have as cool of a story as those mentioned here, but we love participating in at least one giving tree every year. Being able to buy a small present for someone who is struggling helps us get into the spirit of the holidays. Hopefully in the future we can do more.
This would be cool to win because I don’t have any gold i stack silver
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Got a wrist watch from my six year old granddaughter. Nothing expensive or fancy and I javen’t taken it off since I opened it.
My daughter would love this page. Her and her mum do work with all kinds of precious metals for making jewlery.