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Valuable items, including Canadian coin, found in Salvation Army kettles

Many people leave loose change, lint and smalls bills in the Salvation Army kettles every holiday season, but some knowingly or possibly mistakenly put much more valuable items in there.

And many of the donations are bringing out the best in people during what is a tough holiday season this year.

Most recently, volunteers in Washington State found a diamond ring wrapped in a dollar bill and at another Washington location they found a rare one-ounce silver coin wrapped in a note. "I've saved this ounce of silver for twenty years, I'm unemployed for 13 months, my house is in foreclosure," reads the note posted by KREM. "I'm filing for bankruptcy and at 61 my retirement is shot but I still know there are families in worse shape."

In Chicago a few days ago, bell ringers found a one-ounce solid gold South African Krugerrand. While this is the first gold coin in the Chicago area this year, Capt. Antonio Romero tells The Beacon News that "It's been happening for quite a few years." Romero says the bell ringers can never get a description of the donor as he or she really wants to remain anonymous, "but regardless, we want to think him."

Valuable coins have also been found in Oklahoma, Iowa and Texas. The one is Oklahoma is valued at about $1,800 and the area commander in Tulsa tells KJRH it has been happening for about 15 years and believes it could be the same person.

In Tennessee, someone placed 36 $100 bills in a red kettle and in Maryland a donor left a cheque for $1,000. At another Maryland location two years ago, a donor left a one-ounce Canadian gold coin.

In Canada, the Salvation Army provides more than 6,300 shelter, addictions, detox and mental health beds for vulnerable people and provides 2.7 million meals. Kettles were first used in Canada in 1906 and can be seen at more than 2,000 locations across the country.