Gold Krugerrand lands in Salvation Army kettle

Among all the quarters, nickels and dimes deposited in a Salvation Army red kettle at the Mukwonago Wal-Mart last weekend was a shiny gold coin that greatly boosted that day's donations.

An anonymous donor dropped in a 1978 gold Krugerrand worth at least $1,100.

"I was dumping out the change and there was this little white piece of paper taped around something," said Pastor Karen Scheel of Caldwell Methodist Church in Mukwonago. "We opened it up and it turned out to be this Krugerrand. Someone typed a little note, that this was a gold coin worth more than $1,100."

Maj. Nelson De La Vergne, corps officer of the Waukesha Salvation Army, was happy but not surprised. He's served three decades in the Salvation Army in a dozen postings and has seen similar unusual anonymous donations.

"Generous, caring people enjoy having fun by giving us surprises," said De La Vergne. "We'll discover crisp new $100 bills in the kettles, we'll discover a $50 bill hidden in a wad of $1 bills. We'll sometimes find a check wrapped up in a $5 bill to make us work for it."

De La Vergne is familiar with Krugerrands — which feature a springbok antelope on one side and South African statesman Paul Kruger on the other — because they've been dropped in red kettles in other cities where he has been stationed.

"I think it's a family or a person that does this throughout the country every year. It's something special — acknowledging that we can give gifts like this and be recognized anonymously," said De La Vergne. "I feel it's kind of fun for them and it's kind of fun for us as well."

Scheel, who manages the Salvation Army in Mukwonago, has organized volunteer bell ringers for 11 years. The bell ringers from a local church who were at the Mukwonago Wal-Mart on Saturday didn't notice anything out of the ordinary and didn't see the Krugerrand dropped in the kettle, she said.

When it was found, Scheel recalled: "It looked spotless, like 22 karat gold. It was heavy. It looked like no one had ever laid a finger on it."

The donation came as the Salvation Army is struggling to raise money and find enough volunteers, said De La Vergne.

It can be thankless work, ringing a bell for several hours, wishing everyone a cheerful "Merry Christmas!" But every now and then surprises happen. Like a solid gold coin dropped in a red kettle.

"Two years ago we opened the kettle up and we found a pair of diamond earrings. So we just never know what we're going to find," said Scheel.