Et cetera : Another gold coin for the red kettle; donation is worth $1,350

Most people who stop by the Salvation Army Red Kettle at local stores, including Fareway, leave a few coins or maybe some dollar bills. Those little donations from countless people add up to more than $10,000 each giving season, to help area families with things they need to help them get back on their feet. However, there's one notable exception to most Red Kettle donors: Every year for the past four years of the Salvation Army bell ringing, someone has surreptitiously slipped a 1-ounce gold American Eagle coin into the red kettle at Fareway. And although there has always been at least one Salvation Army volunteer standing right there, the donor has gone un-detected and un-identified each year. "That's some pretty good sleight-of-hand," says Robert Parker, who is leading the Benton County Salvation Army and its annual Red Kettle fund drive. The donor writes the word "Gold" across the coin so those who count the donations know its value. Parker says he knows exactly what the gold coin is worth -- $1,350. A gold coin contains 31.104 grams of gold; the American Eagle coin is worth about $50 more than one ounce of gold at current prices, and has a face value of $50. Saturday, Dec. 15, is the last day for bell-ringing at Fareway, although the kettles will remain in other locations including Belle Plaine and Urbana, and smaller red kettles are also in place inside a few other businesses. All donations to the Red Kettles go to the Benton County Salvation Army; all proceeds help Benton County families.