Salvation Army bell ringer given Spanish shipwreck coin
SEBASTIAN, Fla. — A Salvation Army bell ringer received a coin with ties to a fleet of Spanish galleons sunk in 1715 off the coast of Vero Beach.
Longtime volunteer Jim Bessy received the gold Spanish escudo worth several thousand dollars from a donor who wished to remain anonymous. He said the donor handed him the coin for safekeeping Thursday so it wouldn’t get mixed up with the other coins in the kettle.
Bessy then turned over the coin Friday to Salvation Army Lt. Jay Needham in Vero Beach.
When Needham, in his first year as Salvation Army corps officer in Indian River County, began researching the coin on the Interenet, he said he was amazed to learn of its history. The coin is in a plastic case, marked with the words “1715 Fleet 1 Escudo.”
South African gold coin worth $1,050 boosts Salvation Army campaign
“This is certainly a big welcome for me,” Needham said. “My first Christmas here comes with treasure from a 300-year-old ship. It brings a 300-year-old story about treasure together with a 2,000-year-old story about the birth of our Savior at Christmas.”
In 2015, more than 200 coins were retrieved along the Treasure Coast and valued at more than $1 million. A contractor working for 1715 Fleet-Queens Jewels LLC, a historic shipwreck salvage company based here, recovered the coins that were part of the fleet that sunk in a hurricane off the coast July 31, 1715.
The shipwrecks are what give the area of Indian River, St. Lucie and Martin counties its Treasure Coast nickname.
$1,200 gold coin dropped in Salvation Army kettle
Needham said he was very grateful for the donation, which will go a long way in helping people in the community.
“This coin will help bring light on so many stories of families in need right here in Indian River County,” Needham said. “With this great contribution and so many more from around this generous community, we are able to help people that are in need during the Christmas season and into the New Year."
The Salvation Army's marketing director in Vero Beach, John Corapi, said this is the first time he can remember a gold coin making its way into an Indian River County kettle at Christmas time. Last year, the Salvation Army of Martin County received a diamond wedding band in one of its kettles.
'Mimi' coin mystery benefits Salvation Army
Corapi said overall donations to the kettles this year are up $10,000 from the same time last year. He expects a final accounting to be available after the first of the year.
Several Salvation Army divisions across the USA also have received gold coins. Among them:
• In Colorado, a pair of South African gold Krugerrands were dropped in red kettles in Fort Collins. In years past when officials found one coin, the anonymous donor always returned to the Salvation Army to buy back the coin at $1,000 more than its $1,500 value, according to Salvation Army Capt. Isaias Braga.
• In Kentucky, organization officials found a South African gold Krugerrand on Thursday in a red kettle at a Louisville Walmart. Its value is estimated at around $1,200.
• In Montana, a new Salvation Army lieutenant found an American Buffalo gold coin Friday while counting red kettle donations in Bigfork. Its value is estimated at around $1,200.
• In Oregon, an anonymous donor dropped an Austrian 100-corona gold coin into a kettle in Salem. The 1915 coin is worth about $1,100.
• In Wisconsin, a donor deposited 40 gold coins Friday in Salvation Army kettles in Manitowoc County and is believed to be the same person who deposited 40 gold coins in six kettles in the Green Bay area. The 2016 American Eagle one ounce gold coins are valued at $1,130 each, making the total donation of 80 gold coins valued at $90,400, and South African gold Krugerrands valued at more than $1,100 were dropped in red kettles in Mukwonago and De Pere.
Voices: For 4 decades, secret Santa spreads $1,000 cheer
The Salvation Army red kettle program was begun in San Francisco in 1891 when the charity's Capt. Joseph McFee was wondering how to feed hungry people in the city. He put out an iron pot at the Oakland Ferry Landing so people could throw in their spare change.
The tradition of donating gold coins appears to have started in the Midwest. The first gold coin was donated in 1982 in Crystal Lake, Ill., a Chicago suburb in 1982, Melissa Temme, spokeswoman for the Salvation Army, said in 2006.
This year's red kettle donation drive ended Christmas Eve.
Contributing: Erin Udell, Fort Collins Coloradoan; Justin Sayers, The (Louisville) Courier-Journal; Carol McAlice Currie, (Salem, Ore) Statesman Journal; Meg Jones, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; Oren Dorell, USA TODAY; The Associated Press. Follow the Treasure Coast Newspapers on Twitter: @TCPalm