Second rare gold coin valued around $2k found in Salvation Army kettle in Des Moines

Noelle Alviz-Gransee, Des Moines Register
·2 min read

For the second time in a week, someone has dropped a rare and highly valuable gold coin into a Des Moines metro Salvation Army bellringer's kettle.

Maj. Butch Frost, Salvation Army Capital Area coordinator, said the coin, an Australian Kangaroo Nugget, could be worth up to $2,000, a figure in line with values cited on numismatic websites. Prized by collectors, the coins are issued annually by the Perth Mint, home of the Australian government's gold bullion coin program.

More:Rare generosity: Coin worth $1,801 dropped in Des Moines metro Salvation Army kettle

The donor is unnamed, but Frost said the Salvation Army received a call from the man, saying the coin would be placed in the kettle at the Hy-Vee store on 86th Street at Douglas Avenue in Urbandale, and another call to make sure it had been received.

Two weeks ago, a gold Canadian coin turned up in a Salvation Army kettle outside the Scheels store at Jordan Creek Town Center in West Des Moines. The agency sold it for $1,801.

Frost said that based on the mint condition of the coins and the way they were packaged, he suspected they came from the same person. But he said the donor had called again and denied repsonsibility for the first coin ― though he said he had made a similar donation some years ago.

An Australian coin, valued at $2,000, that an anonymous donor dropped in a Salvation Army kettle at an Urbandale Hy-Vee store.
An Australian coin, valued at $2,000, that an anonymous donor dropped in a Salvation Army kettle at an Urbandale Hy-Vee store.

Frost said the coins, like any other donation, will fund the Salvation Army's aid programs.

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"When we receive coins of this nature, we take them, sell them and then those funds we put directly back to assist the community," he said.

"Reactions are always exciting when we get a coin like this." he added. "It's going to make an actual impact on what we try to do and the programs we offer to support the community."

Few years pass without reports of people dropping unexpectedly generous donations in Salvation Army kettles. The Salvation Army in St. Paul, Minnesota, said it found a $200,000 check in a kettle in 2017, and in 2019, the Salvation Army in Louisville, Kentucky, reported receiving a donation of a $1,500 gold bar for the fourth year in a row.

Noelle Alviz-Gransee is a general assignment reporter at the Des Moines Register. Follow her on Twitter at@NoelleHannika or email her at NAlvizGransee@registermedia.com.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Second gold coin donated to salvation army