$2K Gold Coin Found In Salvation Army Red Kettle In Geneva

GENEVA, IL — Anonymous donors have dropped more than $11,000 worth of gold into the Salvation Army's red kettles over the past few weeks, a streak of generosity that continued Monday in Geneva.

The Salvation Army found a 1-ounce, 2003 $50 American Gold Eagle coin in a kettle that was outside Starbucks at 229 W. State St., according to a news release.

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That coin is estimated to be worth $2,000, which will benefit the Salvation Army Tri-City Corps Community Center in St. Charles, the release states.

The discovery is the latest in a string of gold donations throughout Chicago and its suburbs. Generous donors have left 13 gold coin and bars in the Salvation Army’s iconic red kettles in the region, worth about $11,200 in total.

13 Gold Coins, Bars Worth $11K Left In Salvation Army Red Kettles

In Round Lake, donors have given five gold coins worth about $3,000, as well as a 1-ounce American Gold Eagle coin worth an estimated $1,800 and four 0.1-ounce gold Mercury Dime coins valued at $775.

A 1-ounce gold South African Krugerrand worth $1,790 was donated Dec. 3 in Naperville, along with a 1919 20 Franc Swiss coin, worth an estimated $350, that was dropped into a kettle outside the Jewel-Osco on Broadway in Chicago.

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Four coins valued at almost $3,000 total were dropped into kettles in Huntley and Crystal Lake on Friday.

The first gold donations of the holiday season in the Chicago area happened Nov. 28 in Bartlett and Mundelein.

A 1-ounce 2005 $50 American Gold Eagle coin left in Bartlett will also benefit the Salvation Army Tri-City Corps Community Center. That coin is worth between $1,800 and $1,900.

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“We are so excited to be doubly blessed by this second gold coin,” said Lt. Scott Smith, an officer for The Salvation Army Tri-City Corps. “We are continually overwhelmed by the generosity of our community.”

Gold and silver coins donated to the Salvation Army's red kettles have become a much-anticipated holiday tradition throughout Chicagoland. The red-kettle campaign dates back to 1891 in San Francisco.

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With many more needing assistance amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Salvation Army launched the Rescue Christmas campaign nearly two months early in 2020. Some Salvation Army locations in Chicagoland have seen as much as five times the typical requests for food and emergency assistance since the start of the pandemic.

All money donated to the Red Kettles stays local, and donations help fund programming year-round, according to the organization. For more information on the Salvation Army's Rescue Christmas campaign, visit www.salarmychristmas.org.