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Rare coin tossed in Salvation Army kettle
By RITCHIE E. STARNES
Monday, January 4, 2010
The Chowan Herald
Bookkeepers with the Salvation Army will need to adjust their balance sheet a little more to the good after it was discovered someone tossed a rare quarter into one of the holiday collection kettles here in Edenton.
Bill Hicks, chairman and treasurer of the Edenton Lions’ Club, is well aware the town ranks among the state’s oldest, but he was still surprised to find a donated coin that dates back to some of the area’s historical architecture. And discovering the 1853-quarter was a mere coincidence.
“This just happened to be on top of the tube,” said Hicks, describing how the coin came to be stacked after the change was sorted. Had the coin not been on top and in Hick’s plain view, it would have most likely been overlooked and treated as a regular quarter.
After all, Hicks said he typically handles as much as $9,000 worth of quarters a year in fundraising.
It’s not unusual to find an assortment of loose items
among the Salvation Army’s bucket of change.
“I find that people will reach deep in their pocket and throw everything in,” Hicks said.
“One lady dumped the contents of her pocketbook only to come running back to say that she accidentally dropped her diamond ring,” he added.
Much to her relief, volunteers managed to fish the ring out of the bucket.
Among the discarded items that Hicks has found from Salvation Army collections include: bolts, an automotive fuse, a 22-caliber bullet, and even digitalis, used to treat congestive heart failure or an irregular heart beat.
Sometimes a foreign object jams the coin-sorting machine at which time Hicks discovers anything unusual. But a rare coin would routinely pass through and without any particular notice.
The found coin is valued between $20 and $50, depending on condition, Hicks said. Instead of trying to maximize the coin’s value on such mediums as EBay, Hicks said the Salvation Army will typically sell the coin to a dealer at its appropriate value.
Rare coins seem to get dropped in Salvation Army kettles more often than most would expect. Twice during early December Salvation Army workers discovered rare coins after the sorting machine kicked them out because it didn’t recognize the coin.
A rare Krugerrand, valued between $1,200 and $1,400 was discovered in Portland, Ore. In Torrington, Conn. Someone tossed a “half-eagle” coin, which was the country’s first gold coin, circulated from 1795 to 1929. The face value was $5, but today’s value would fetch between $250 and $400.
Hicks said there’s no way of knowing if the coin’s owner intended to donate the old coin or if was an accident. And if someone came forward in an attempt to claim the coin?
“There’s no way to prove who the coin belonged to,” Hicks countered.
Of course, there’s the possibility that the contributor didn’t know they were giving anything more than loose change.
Hicks does know that the coin came from one of the four collection stations in town, held the first weekend in December. Those stations collected $4,825. Of course, Salvation Army bookkeepers will be adding whatever the found coin eventually fetches.
By RITCHIE E. STARNES
Monday, January 4, 2010
The Chowan Herald
Bookkeepers with the Salvation Army will need to adjust their balance sheet a little more to the good after it was discovered someone tossed a rare quarter into one of the holiday collection kettles here in Edenton.
Bill Hicks, chairman and treasurer of the Edenton Lions’ Club, is well aware the town ranks among the state’s oldest, but he was still surprised to find a donated coin that dates back to some of the area’s historical architecture. And discovering the 1853-quarter was a mere coincidence.
“This just happened to be on top of the tube,” said Hicks, describing how the coin came to be stacked after the change was sorted. Had the coin not been on top and in Hick’s plain view, it would have most likely been overlooked and treated as a regular quarter.
After all, Hicks said he typically handles as much as $9,000 worth of quarters a year in fundraising.
It’s not unusual to find an assortment of loose items
among the Salvation Army’s bucket of change.
“I find that people will reach deep in their pocket and throw everything in,” Hicks said.
“One lady dumped the contents of her pocketbook only to come running back to say that she accidentally dropped her diamond ring,” he added.
Much to her relief, volunteers managed to fish the ring out of the bucket.
Among the discarded items that Hicks has found from Salvation Army collections include: bolts, an automotive fuse, a 22-caliber bullet, and even digitalis, used to treat congestive heart failure or an irregular heart beat.
Sometimes a foreign object jams the coin-sorting machine at which time Hicks discovers anything unusual. But a rare coin would routinely pass through and without any particular notice.
The found coin is valued between $20 and $50, depending on condition, Hicks said. Instead of trying to maximize the coin’s value on such mediums as EBay, Hicks said the Salvation Army will typically sell the coin to a dealer at its appropriate value.
Rare coins seem to get dropped in Salvation Army kettles more often than most would expect. Twice during early December Salvation Army workers discovered rare coins after the sorting machine kicked them out because it didn’t recognize the coin.
A rare Krugerrand, valued between $1,200 and $1,400 was discovered in Portland, Ore. In Torrington, Conn. Someone tossed a “half-eagle” coin, which was the country’s first gold coin, circulated from 1795 to 1929. The face value was $5, but today’s value would fetch between $250 and $400.
Hicks said there’s no way of knowing if the coin’s owner intended to donate the old coin or if was an accident. And if someone came forward in an attempt to claim the coin?
“There’s no way to prove who the coin belonged to,” Hicks countered.
Of course, there’s the possibility that the contributor didn’t know they were giving anything more than loose change.
Hicks does know that the coin came from one of the four collection stations in town, held the first weekend in December. Those stations collected $4,825. Of course, Salvation Army bookkeepers will be adding whatever the found coin eventually fetches.
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