‘One ounce of pure gold’ Salvation Army gets a golden surprise in their red kettle

WASILLA — Janet Kincaid has been working with the Salvation Army for nearly 30 years. Last week, Kincaid, owner of Valley Hotel and the Colony Inn, found something in a red kettle she had never seen before in the Mat-Su Valley.

A 1978 South African gold Krugerrand.

The coin, valued at $1,251 was wrapped inside a $5 bill.

“To say the least, it was very cool and very exciting,” Kincaid said.

Kincaid has been a board member for the Salvation Army for many years. Every year, she rings the bell next to the iconic red kettle, collecting donations. On Dec. 7, she was ringing the bell at the Knik-Goose Bay Three Bears store when she found the Krugerrand coin left by an anonymous donor with a small note in memory of loved one.

“At first, I thought it was a commemorative coin ya know? Because people dig in their pockets and put all kinds of things in the bucket. Then I realized what it was,” Kincaid said.

Major John Brackenbury, Divisional Commander for Alaska Division of the Salvation Army, said this was the first time a Krugerrand coin has been found in the Valley, and the second found in a Salvation Army kettle in the state. He said that the first one was found in Anchorage about seven years ago.

“It’s one ounce of pure gold,” Brackenbury said.

Donating Krugerrand coins is rare but seems to be catching on, Brackenbury said. He said that over the past 15 years, these Krugerrand have coins have been left in red kettles regularly across the U.S. and the pattern seems to have turned into an annual, random tradition.

Brackenbury said these coins are typically left by anonymous donors.

“It’s always like a mystery of when and where it’s gonna’ show up and who’s gonna’ get it this time,” Brackenbury said.

Brackenbury said that large and anonymous donations are not uncommon in his experience. He said that when he was ringing the bell in Denver, he found a wad of cash wrapped inside a $1 bill. Inside, he found a dozen $100 bills and four $50 bills.

“I think more and more people like the thought of surprising and putting it in the kettles,” Brackenbury said.

Kincaid said that she was thrilled to receive that large donation out of the blue and she has complete faith that the money will be well spent in her community. She said that she likes to think of herself as a good Christian and the Salvation Army’s continued efforts around Alaska reflect her values.

“It’s just amazing how far it goes,” Kincaid said. “The Salvation Army helps people that need it the most and they do it in God’s name and they do it with love and compassion. That says it all.”

Brackenbury said that whoever put the surprise coin into the kettle snuck it in there so nobody knew it was going in.

“It is a great surprise and it’s wonderful to know that there are people in the community that have such faith and trust in the Salvation Army to utilize the funds from this coin to continue to meet the needs of the people in this community,” Brackenbury said.

Brackenbury noted that in spite of the pleasant surprise, overall donations are down by about 15 to 18 percent compared to this same time period last year.

“It’s significant,” Brackenbury said.

Brackenbury said that the recent earthquake hurt them, namely taking a couple a days of collecting donations as volunteers dealt with the aftermath of the earthquake. He said they are looking for more donations but also more volunteers.

Brackenbury said that the Salvation Army will continue to work with local partners like the American Red Cross to help residents with various disaster reliefs because of the historic quake- from temporary housing and utility assistance to help acquiring prescriptions.

“We will still continue to deal with the after effects for many, many months… We’re a busy group of people we don’t let moss grow on us… because the community needs that. Salvation Army stands in the gap to help,” Brackenbury said.

Those interested in volunteering or donating can see, alaska.salvationarmy.org.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com