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.)
Several years ago, we took in two kids when their ww2 vet widowed grandfather,who was raising them passed away.
Great article
You couldn’t pry those sweet kruegs or eagles outta my hands. They’re just to amazing. Drop some cash in there instead.
One year, as a suprise for my kids I took them on a great adventure. We had just gone through there father and I getting divorced, so it was a sad time for us all. I wanted to do something special for them to help get there mind off the sad stuff they were going through. I decided to take them all to stay at the haunted Hotel in Jerome (my kids were begging to stay there for one night since they saw it on most haunted
places. YES WE DID HAVE A STRANGE EXPERIENCE THAT NIGHT . A loud noise that sounded like books falling on the floor woke us all up around d 1am. There were no books in our rooms. Then my oldest son thought he saw a ghost in his room, we were in adjoining rooms. ) and then to William’s for the Grand Canyon train ride and we stayed in the Grand Canyon Hotel for a couple nights and then went on a Helicopter ride over the Canyon. Was the best thing I ever did for them. They still to this day remember that trip more than the divorce and that’s what I wanted. (I paid off the credit card I used for that lol , but it was worth it.) Love my kids. The best Christmas Ever!!
Great article! Cheers!
This would be my first piece of gold! Thank you for the opportunity to add to my stack. Amd Happy Holidays!
Great article. Thank you for posting it. The Salvation Army came through for me during hard times when I found myself homeless. They gave me the help that I needed to get back on my feet again.
Just as I was getting interested in coins and metals about 4 years ago my sister got me a nice Indian head penny tie clip for work. I wear it several times a week.
Awesome story!
Very cool!
Those are pretty sweet, hope I win one!
Gold would make a great gift to give or receive! Merry Christmas to all!
When my daughter was a baby I was grocery shopping and my debit card was being declined. A lady walked up from the back of the line and swiped her card and paid for my groceries . As I was trying to get my groceries bagged I looked up to thank her and she had just vanished.
My Mother in law needed a new hub cap for her car. I bought her the new hub cap, put it in the bottom of a very large box and covered it up. I wrote a short note and put it in a very small box. I put that box in a little larger box, and then that box in a larger box. Kept doing that until there were about 10 boxes to unwrap. Then placed those packages on top of the covered up hub cap. She opened all those boxes and got to the note that said “keep looking, your gift is in here somewhere”. Had a little holiday fun with my Mother in law.
My wonderful man(who has now passed)gave
me a critter every year.goats,dogs,horses,ducks chickens,etc,etc…..
I try to help when I can when the moment feels right. One day when I can save enough I plan on growing a food forest type of garden to help give back and feed communities.
Gold is yummy, it shines so bright,
You hold it and wear it, it feels so right!
When made into jewelry it’s a beautiful sight
You can even eat it if you have the bite!
Fractionals add up.
My first son was born on the 12th. Close enough to Christmas.
Great reminder that there are great needs out there and that it is the people who can least afford to be generous that are the most generous.
While serving in the Army I got a chance to play one of Santa’s elves. We went to the Hospital and gave out toys to the children who could not be home. It was a very moving experience for all.
I would like to win.
I would love to get that to start my gold collection. Maybe one day I could return the favor
Silver and gold are always nice. I like to give my time to bring others joy.
Long story short,
Years ago my wife came to me with a goofy look on her face. Then looking at her finger (at her wedding ring finger) she said to me, “How can I wear this when it could help feed the hungry?”
She knew the sacrifice it was to purchase the diamond, but convinced me this was the better sacrifice. She sent the ring itself to a charity and received a very heartfelt response from them some weeks later. Initially, I wasn’t happy with the decision but to see my wife receive that response I knew she was at least as happy then as when she first received the ring.
Very cool idea.
This was a fantastic read! Oh boy it’d be such a GOD send if I were lucky enough to win this gold prize!
HAPOY HOLIDAY’S everyone!!!
Growing up my grandma would always tell us grandchildren about her days playing high school basketball. She loved watching her grandchildren play the sport, and would even shoot around with us at the local park. So when my brother was doing some electrical work at her old high school and found a stash of the old gymnasium floorboards that she had played on growing up he knew we should do something special for her. We refurbished a few pieces, engraved a special message on the boards, and gave it to her for Christmas over 60 years after she last played on that court.
Acts 20:35 It is more blessed to give than to receive.
I gave my old Legos to my niece several years ago. I had several thousand pieces and she was happy beyond belief :).