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.
- 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 - Dec. 14 – Gold coin donated in Dubuque, Iowa:
http://www.kcrg.com/content/news/362729371.html - Dec. 14-15 – 1985 Canadian Gold Maple Leaf given in Holland, Michigan: http://www.hollandsentinel.com/article/20151218/NEWS/151219011
- Dec. 15 – Krugerrand 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 - Dec. 15 – Fargo sees American Gold Buffalo, two krugerrands dropped in area kettles:
http://www.inforum.com/news/3905454-3-gold-coins-found-salvation-army-kettles-fargo - Dec. 16 – Flushing-area sees second gold coin with St. Clair Shores, Michigan krugerrand:
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/e0d8d7d2a725449da903b359bd8792a0/MI–Salvation-Army-Gold-Coin - Dec. 16 – Four 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
- Dec. 16 – Helena, Montana gold coin tradition continues:
http://www.ktvh.com/2015/12/the-mystery-of-the-gold-coin-donated-to-the-salvation-army-holiday-kettles/ - Dec. 16 – Longview, Texas Salvation Army latest to receive krugerrand:
http://www.kltv.com/story/30793523/donations-offered-for-gold-coin-donated-to-salvation-army - Dec. 16 – Gold coin in St. Joseph, Wisconsin:
http://canonplace.com/2015/12/anonymous-donor-drops-1100-gold-coin-into-salvation-army/ - Dec. 17 – Gold 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 - Dec. 18 – 1975 krugerrand deposited into Colorado Springs kettle: http://fox21news.com/2015/12/18/gold-coin-worth-1000-placed-in-colorado-springs-salvation-army-kettle/
- Dec. 18 – Quarter-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/ - Dec. 18 – 1908 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 - Dec. 18 – It’s a 1984 Canadian Gold Maple Leaf for Pittsburg, Kansas:
http://www.morningsun.net/article/20151223/NEWS/151229957 - Dec. 18-20 – Alton, 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 - Dec. 18-20 – Flathead, Montana sees second gold coin donation: http://www.kaj18.com/story/30804442/2nd-gold-coin-found-in-bigfork-salvation-army-kettle
- Dec. 19 – Gold coin in Canton, Illinois:
http://www.cinewsnow.com/news/local/The-Bright-Side-Salvation-Army-finds-gold-coin-in-Canton-Red-Kettle-363299331.html
- Dec. 19 – Elmira, New York continues annual tradition:
http://www.stargazette.com/story/news/local/2015/12/23/gold-coin-dropped-salvation-army-kettle/77826042/ - Dec. 19 – Fourth(!) gold coin in Fargo: http://www.inforum.com/news/3908862-4th-gold-coin-worth-more-1000-found-salvation-army-kettle
- Dec. 19 – Second gold coin donated in Jamestown, North Dakota this season:
http://www.jamestownsun.com/news/local/3909137-second-gold-coin-found-red-kettle-here - Dec. 19 – Morgantown, 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 - Dec. 19 – Gold 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 - Dec. 19 – Frost 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
- Dec. 19 – Three 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
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