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 $1,000 more than their value. Notes and poems in the same handwriting were often attached to the donations, until 2002 – when the coins were accompanied by a note stating that the decades-long secret Santa had died, but the tradition would be continued yearly by the family in his or her honor. And it hasn’t stopped since.
2018: This year, gold coins worth several thousands of dollars have already been anonymously dropped into Salvation Army kettles around the Chicago metro area, including several Gold American Eagles and Gold Krugerrands.
Which brings us to….
Our December giveaway!
We would love to hear about a unique gifting experience you’ve had during the holiday season. Tell us about a time you enjoyed playing “Santa” to put a smile on a special someone’s face, or received the perfect gift at just the right time from an anonymous giver. We may share a story or two on our Facebook page, as well!
Commenting below will serve as your entry for our December giveaway. Submit your comment (one comment only please) by December 31st, and one winner will be randomly selected on January 1st to receive an Argor-Heraeus 1 gram gold bar! Whether you decide to keep it or play secret Santa with it is up to you!
*(No Scrooges allowed! Inappropriate comments will be deleted and disqualified.)
Just this week the dollar tree every year ask if you want to donate to the needy children i just got back from Georgia buying lotto tickets Alabama doesn’t sell them.So i won 75$ so i gave her 50 of it so 50 toys will go to the less fortunate children. As i was going home a motor home has been parked in walmart for around 5 days they had transmission trouble spent all their money had a sign up for donations 3 days earlier i pulled up all i had was 3$ my grandson had some change around 50 cents we gave it to them they were so thankful they need to get to Tuson Arizona a long way from FT Payne Alabama. So my next 3 trips to walmart i ended up giving them around 60$ it hurt my pocket book iam on disability and adopted my grandson but it made me feel good inside to December 4th i saw they had left i hope they got enough to make it home.
When the wife and i were dating we used to play claw machines a lot. Together we were extremely good at them and collected a huge amount of stuffed animals. Fast forward a few years to our first born child. He was born with club feet. Shriners hospital which is free to children did an amazing job on fixing his feet perfectlly. We ended up donating every stuffed animal to the hospital for other children who are needing care and i continue to have money automatically withdrawn from each check to donate to them
Such a cool story. Love the generosity that so many share.
Awesome stories!
One Christmas while I was serving in the Marine Corps a fellow Marine had no way to get home for his Christmas leave. I decided I had to help him out. Drove about 100 miles out of the way but it was well worth it knowing he got to see his familly for Christmas like I did. Semper Fi!
While at a local grocery store, I noticed the family in front of me had obviously bargain shopped to get the most for their money. During the checkout process, the cashier was trying to run some gift cards to pay for their purchases. They kept rejecting, saying there were no funds available. The family was very upset as they had received the cards from a local church “help” pantry. The family was walking away, the mom crying. That is when I decided to help out and paid for their groceries. It was a small amount for me (maybe $30) but it was a million dollars to that family. I don’t think I’ve ever received so many hugs and ‘thank yous’ in my life. A small act can mean the world to someone……
Beautiful
When cleaning out my great grandmas house we found a very tacky bird feeder and it gets passed on to someone new each year.
Last Christmas I wanted to get my fiance a new professional camera but wasn’t able to afford it myself. However I was able to get around 20 of our friends to pitch in $10 to $20 so that we could all gift her the camera. Her reaction will always be a treasured memory.
Wonderful overview of eccentric donations. Restores your faith in humanity.
I love hearing stories of those that give generously! I hope some day I will be fortunate enough to have the means to give more than I already do to those in need. Great stories, thanks
My most memorable Santa story is the year my brother and I convinced our family to stop our tradition of exchanging presents and begin donating to non-profit organizations. It illuminates how well we know each other as the donations to various organizations change periodically to reflect each family members concerns.
I wish I could be someone to give one of these unique gifts.
Would love to play Santa for my 2 year old nephew. And give him something he can value when he’s older!
Throughout the life of our YouTube channel, we giveaway all sorts of gifts from silver and gold to T-shirts and knives!!
(North country off grid)
I saw a person on facebook who was struggling with an heating assessment her apartment bldg added to her rent. I immediately sent her the amount of the assessment via PayPal. She knew it was me but never disclosed my anonymity.
I have put a hundred dollar bill in several times over the years it’s for a good cause.
I try to go on toy runs every year. One year we were actually able to had them out to the kids and the smile they give made it all worth it.
WOW!!! Such awesome donations to an Awesome organization.
I know that when I was in need the SA was there to help. Such generous people come out this time of year.
Kudo’s to you all.
Merry Goldmas!!!
Dance lessons
Actually my favorite was the first Yule I spent with my wife Ting.
She’s from Thailand and her family is Buddhist and never celebrated so when she got wrapped gifts she was like a kid. Lol
It was an awesome time.
Wow, amazing article I had no idea that people donated such interesting items into the Red Kettles.
Every year around this time a good friend of mine makes a point to distribute hot meals to as many of the homeless population in our area as possible. He will do this a few times through out the month and get to as many people as he can in a night.
Happy Holidays. What makes a holiday special? Family, love, kindness?? All of the above!! Thank you for being a great company.
A woman ahead of me in line at a Subway did not have the change to pay for a cup of coffee she had ordered and told the employee to leave it off. I said no no just put it on my bill. No big deal it’s just a cup of coffee but the gratitude the woman showed literally made my day. It was a small gesture, and I know I’m no saint for doing it but do enough little things like that and it could make a difference.
“If your not first, your last” If you win you need to donate the 1 gram gold bar to someone who needs it.
Happy Holidays!!!
I received two years ago as a Christmas present a coin that was perfect for a set that I was working on. The interesting part is that this family member did not know which coins I needed as I was working on the set. I never spoke to them about what I needed, nothing.
How they knew is a mystery in its own and gives me a warm feeling during Christmas.
Thanks much for the awesome giveaway
Commenting to inspire and not receive credit. I never walk past a Bell Ringer or bucket without making a small donation. For many years prior to getting married and having my own children I would donate gifts to Toys for Tots or Santa’s Helpers. Holiday giving migrated to selecting a boy and a girl angel from the local Salvation Army’s Angel Tree to purchase gifts for Christmas. I enjoyed gift shopping for a child I only knew through a one page angel adoption sheet more than I did my own children because my own children (when old enough) would shop for the angels with me, providing the excitement and imagination that only a child can bring to such an experience. Golden Rule – Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.