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Tuesday, 15th December 2009 (3969 views)

A rare gold coin, dating back to 1881, has been anonymously dropped in a Salvation Army collection bucket in Torrington, Connecticut.

The $5 gold eagle coin is thought to be worth up to $500 (£307) and was the first gold coin to be minted in the US.

According to a spokesperson for the organisation, no one can recall such a valuable item ever being dropped in one of the collection buckets in the state.

Lieutenant Angie Galentine, of the Torrington Salvation Army Corps, describes the donation as a "blessing" and adds that as well as helping to fund the organisation's programs, it will also draw attention to the efforts of the Salvation Army.

The item, which was in circulation between 1795 and 1929, was discovered when a change counting machine routinely separated the half eagle from the other coins.

In Missouri, the donation of a gold coin to the Salvation Army has become something of a tradition with one being anonymously dropped in the collection each year for the past 18 years.

 

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