One person was likely on “Santa’s nice list” after dropping a special coin into a Salvation Army donation jar on Christmas Eve.
Local Salvation Army employees in Washington, Pennsylvania, collected donations with their Red Kettles in front of a Giant Eagle grocery store.
A generous donor threw in a gold coin wrapped in a dollar bill with a note taped to it saying he or she wished to remain anonymous.
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A spokesperson for the Salvation Army told Fox News Digital that the coin had been stamped Queen Elizabeth the portrait of the II and is worth more than $2,700.
A rare gold coin was donated by an anonymous Good Samaritan to a Salvation Army Red Cauldron in Washington, Pennsylvania, after the donor raided it during the holidays. (The Salvation Army)
“Increasing visitors around the holidays is critical to The Red Kettle’s campaign,” the spokesperson said.
The Red Kettles raised an average of $2.7 million last day holiday season.
“In fact, during a normal year, almost half of the donations The Salvation Army receives (including donations to Red Kettles) come from October through December,” the spokesperson added.
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David Zanca, senior portfolio manager of Louisiana-based Blanchard & Co., a U.S. investment firm specializing in rare coins, told Fox News Digital that the coin is a one-ounce, Canadian gold maple leaf.
“Canadian gold maple leaf coins are quite popular with investors as a way to purchase gold bullion. Gold bullion is valued primarily for its gold content,” Zanca said.
The Red Kettles raised an average of $2.7 million per day last holiday season. (Mark Rightmire/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)
The coin is dated 1987 with an engraved inscription.
“Assuming the person bought the coin in 1987, he would have paid an average price of $520 that year. That’s over a 500% difference from the 1987 value,” Zanca said, adding that the donation is “great” for the Salvation Army.
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“One of the interesting aspects of gold coins is that they can be gifted/donated in a private manner,” says Zanca.
“God bless the person who chose to donate the gold coin to the foundation Salvation Army not just because of the size of the donation. But because now, at the beginning of a new year, it calls on us to focus on and discuss kindness,” he added.
“The money coming out of the coin will go straight back into the local community to provide vital social services to individuals and families in 2025,” the Salvation Army spokesperson said. (Brian Hayes, Lucky Duck Foundation)
This isn’t the first time The Salvation Army has received a gold coin in one of its cauldrons, as the organization has literally struck gold in the US over the past four years.
Two South African Krugerrands were donated Naples, Californiaand Canton, Michigan.
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In Farming Hills, Michigan, two sovereign coins were dropped, along with a 10 ruble coin.
A gold coin worth $3,000 was found in a cauldron in Monmouth, Oregon.
‘The money coming out of the coin goes straight back into the local community to help provide vital social services for individuals and families during 2025,” the Salvation Army spokesperson said.
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Services such as alcohol/drug abuse recovery, clothing assistance, rent/mortgage/utility assistance, school supplies and more will be helped by the coins.
