Lake County Salvation Army kettles strike gold

Over a three-day span earlier this month, Salvation Army kettles in four Lake County towns hit the mother lode.

Ten gold coins valued at $4,680 were dropped in kettles in Libertyville, Mundelein, Gurnee and Round Lake between Dec. 1 and Dec. 3.

Anonymous gold coin donations to Salvation Army kettles have become a growing trend over the years throughout the country. This is the largest donation of such coins the Salvation Army's Waukegan Corps has ever seen, said Capt. Heather Holman.

“We've had three 1-ounce gold coins donated before, but never this many at once,” she said.

The coins will be turned over to the regional offices and sold by a dealer. The money from the sale will then come back to the Waukegan-based office for use locally, Holman said.

Seven Swiss gold francs with .19 ounces of gold each were gift wrapped and dropped in a kettle outside a grocery store in Libertyville. Valued at $2,400, a note attached was addressed to the Salvation Army's national leaders, William and Nancy Roberts.

“Thank you for all you do continuously to minister to and do for the least of these brothers of mine,” the note read, along with several lines of scripture.

Two Canadian .1-ounce gold coins were dropped in kettles outside a crafting store in Mundelein and another grocery store in Gurnee on Dec. 3. The two coins are valued at $190 each, Salvation Army officials said.

The 10th coin was a 1-ounce American gold eagle coin valued at $1,900 — the single priciest coin of the lot. It was dropped in a kettle outside of a Round Lake retailer also on Dec. 3.

The Salvation Army's annual donation campaign featuring the ubiquitous bell ringers and red kettles began Nov. 18 and runs through Christmas Eve.