HomeNewsRed Kettle Report: December 14 - 20, 2015

Red Kettle Report: December 14 – 20, 2015

salvation army red kettle

By Hubert Walker for CoinWeek ….
Since 2005 in Lee County, Florida, someone has been leaving notes in Salvation Army kettles. Inside the note is a gold coin and a message: “In loving memory of Mimi”. No one not directly involved with the delivery of the notes knows who “Mimi” is or the identity or identities of the individual(s) doing the donating. But of all the local traditions concerning the “mysterious” donation of gold coins in red kettles, this story has perhaps best captured the imagination of the coin collecting public. References to it can be found on many coin forums and websites.

Oddly, however, a story from last week garnered the most news coverage this week. The December 11 donation of a Liberty Head Double Eagle in Columbia Falls, Montana continued to pop up all over the internet. CoinWeek news staff lost count after the first dozen separate articles dedicated to the one coin.

And lastly, while every donation is important to the Salvation Army’s mission of helping those in need, the most interesting coin found in a red kettle so far this season came to light in Marshfield, Missouri: a 1908 Hungarian gold 100 krona.

The story behind it is pretty interesting too; we recommend you click on the link.

The rest of the gold coins donated during the week of December 14-20 can be found in the following list. Sometimes the articles in the links do not give an exact day of donation; in those cases, they are listed according to the date of publication.

  1. December 14“In loving memory of Mimi” – Cape Coral, Florida:
    http://www.cape-coral-daily-breeze.com/page/content.detail/id/546644/-Mimi–gold-coin-discovered-in-Red-Kettle.html?nav=5011
  2. Dec. 14Gold coin donated in Dubuque, Iowa:
    http://www.kcrg.com/content/news/362729371.html
  3. Dec. 14-151985 Canadian Gold Maple Leaf given in Holland, Michigan: http://www.hollandsentinel.com/article/20151218/NEWS/151219011
  4. Dec. 15Krugerrand found in Danville, Illinois kettle:
    http://www.commercial-news.com/news/local_news/salvation-army-celebrates-gold-coin/article_5a7843f6-804e-51ae-bcc9-5b499ea8c61f.html
  5. Dec. 15Fargo sees American Gold Buffalo, two krugerrands dropped in area kettles:
    http://www.inforum.com/news/3905454-3-gold-coins-found-salvation-army-kettles-fargo
  6. Dec. 16Flushing-area sees second gold coin with St. Clair Shores, Michigan krugerrand:
    http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/e0d8d7d2a725449da903b359bd8792a0/MI–Salvation-Army-Gold-Coin
  7. Dec. 16Four coins donated by Frederick, Maryland coin dealer: http://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/social_issues/kettles-bring-clank-of-gold-coins-for-hefty-donation-to/article_c40b17c4-c3b8-5bb5-9b3d-9e0f8110a036.html
  8. Dec. 16Helena, Montana gold coin tradition continues:
    http://www.ktvh.com/2015/12/the-mystery-of-the-gold-coin-donated-to-the-salvation-army-holiday-kettles/
  9. Dec. 16Longview, Texas Salvation Army latest to receive krugerrand:
    http://www.kltv.com/story/30793523/donations-offered-for-gold-coin-donated-to-salvation-army
  10. Dec. 16Gold coin in St. Joseph, Wisconsin:
    http://canonplace.com/2015/12/anonymous-donor-drops-1100-gold-coin-into-salvation-army/
  11. Dec. 17Gold Maple Leaf in Green Valley, Arizona:
    http://www.gvnews.com/news/glittering-help-gold-coin-dropped-in-salvation-army-kettle/article_b9b0f6c0-a803-11e5-bd68-47d06067431b.html
  12. Dec. 181975 krugerrand deposited into Colorado Springs kettle: http://fox21news.com/2015/12/18/gold-coin-worth-1000-placed-in-colorado-springs-salvation-army-kettle/
  13. Dec. 18Quarter-ounce gold coin fourth received in Fargo… this week!:
    http://y94.com/news/articles/2015/dec/18/nearly-1000-gold-coin-in-salvation-army-red-kettle-at-kfgo/
  14. Dec. 181908 gold Hungarian 100-krona coin donated by anonymous former recipient of Salvation Army assistance:
    http://www.ky3.com/news/local/salvation-army-red-kettle-in-marshfield-strikes-gold/21048998_37041406
  15. Dec. 18It’s a 1984 Canadian Gold Maple Leaf for Pittsburg, Kansas:
    http://www.morningsun.net/article/20151223/NEWS/151229957
  16. Dec. 18-20Alton, Illinois Salvation Army receives second coin this season:
    http://www.riverbender.com/articles/details/second-gold-coin-received-alton-salvation-army-remains-hopeful-of-making-its-goal-10524.cfm
  17. Dec. 18-20Flathead, Montana sees second gold coin donation: http://www.kaj18.com/story/30804442/2nd-gold-coin-found-in-bigfork-salvation-army-kettle
  18. Dec. 19Gold coin in Canton, Illinois:
    http://www.cinewsnow.com/news/local/The-Bright-Side-Salvation-Army-finds-gold-coin-in-Canton-Red-Kettle-363299331.html
  19. Dec. 19Elmira, New York continues annual tradition:
    http://www.stargazette.com/story/news/local/2015/12/23/gold-coin-dropped-salvation-army-kettle/77826042/
  20. Dec. 19Fourth(!) gold coin in Fargo: http://www.inforum.com/news/3908862-4th-gold-coin-worth-more-1000-found-salvation-army-kettle
  21. Dec. 19Second gold coin donated in Jamestown, North Dakota this season:
    http://www.jamestownsun.com/news/local/3909137-second-gold-coin-found-red-kettle-here
  22. Dec. 19Morgantown, West Virginia site of gold coin donations since 1970s:
    http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/anonymous-1-000-salvation-army-donor-strikes-article-1.2472482
  23. Dec. 19Gold coin found in Quad-Cities area kettle:
    http://qctimes.com/news/local/gold-coins-donated-to-red-kettle-campaign/article_5649c43d-ef2f-5f5a-950f-f800d99f3b6f.html
  24. Dec. 19Frost Commemorative Arts medal donated in Sturgis, South Dakota: http://rapidcityjournal.com/anonymous-donor-drops-gold-coin-in-sturgis-kettle/article_6be7bdf6-603c-51d3-937e-1016edf5997b.html
  25. Dec. 19Three American Gold Eagle 1-oz. coins found in Washington County, Oregon:
    http://www.oregonlive.com/hillsboro/index.ssf/2015/12/gold_coins_a_holiday_season_bo.html

 

Hubert Walker
Hubert Walker
Hubert Walker has served as the Assistant Editor of CoinWeek.com since 2015. Along with co-author Charles Morgan, he has written for CoinWeek since 2012, as well as the monthly column "Market Whimsy" for The Numismatist and the book 100 Greatest Modern World Coins (2020) for Whitman Publishing.

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