SHARE COPY LINK An anonymous person dropped a coin worth $1,200 into a Salvation Army red kettle during a local fundraiser held at a Tega Cay Wal-Mart. The coin was appraised at a local Brownlee Jewelers store. The coin will likely be sold and all proceeds will g David Thackham dthackham@heraldonline.com 
 
 An anonymous person dropped a coin worth $1,200 into a Salvation Army red kettle during a local fundraiser held at a Tega Cay Wal-Mart. The coin was appraised at a local Brownlee Jewelers store. The coin will likely be sold and all proceeds will g David Thackham dthackham@heraldonline.com ||||| It’s time to call this a tradition. 
 
 For the fourth consecutive year, the so-called “Coin Crusader” has dropped gold 1947 Mexican 50-peso coins into a Salvation Army Red Kettle outside of a store in Pompano Beach. The donations were made at the Walmart Neighborhood Market, 1199 S. Federal Hwy. 
 
 Two of the gold coins were discovered Wednesday and another one was found Nov. 27, The Salvation Army of Broward County announced. 
 
 In both cases, as in earlier years, the coins were wrapped inside a dollar bill. 
 
 At the current price of gold, each coin is worth a little more than $1,300. 
 
 After the Christmas season, a donor typically purchases the coins from the Salvation Army, said Alyse Gossman, the organization’s director of development. 
 
 The Salvation Army of Broward County A mystery donor has left gold Mexican 50-peso coins with The Salvation Army of Broward County at one of the organization's Red Kettle collection points in Pompano Beach. A mystery donor has left gold Mexican 50-peso coins with The Salvation Army of Broward County at one of the organization's Red Kettle collection points in Pompano Beach. (The Salvation Army of Broward County) 
 
 “This mystery donor has certainly lifted our holiday spirits once again,” said Major Keath Biggers, Area Commander for The Salvation Army of Broward County. 
 
 “These unique gifts help us highlight the incredible support needed for the programs that take place during the holidays and all year-round,” Biggers said. 
 
 Last year, the anonymous donor left two gold coins in the Salvation Army kettle outside the Walmart at 2300 W. Atlantic Blvd. in Pompano Beach. 
 
 In 2015, five coins were dropped off at two different Red Kettle locations in Pompano Beach. 
 
 The string of mystery donations began in 2014 when two coins were dropped off one week apart at two kettle locations in Pompano Beach. 
 
 The Salvation Army has been content to let the donor’s identity remain secret. 
 
 In Broward, the Christmas kettle campaign runs through Dec. 23 at 45 locations across the county using individual volunteers and volunteers from civic groups. Annually, funds from Red Kettles provide meals, shelter, clothing and social services to more than 25,000 in-need people and families throughout Greater Broward, the organization said. 
 
 The Red Kettle drive dates back to 1891 when Salvation Army Captain Joseph McFee worried about people going hungry in San Francisco. He decided to emulate what he saw as a sailor in Liverpool, England when one of the ports featured a large iron kettle called “Simpson’s Pot” into which people could toss coins to help the poor. 
 
 ALSO 
 
 'Coin Crusader' drops gold pesos into Salvation Army kettles -- again 
 
 Mystery donor drops $1,400 coin in Salvation Army kettle -- again ||||| POMPANO BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Officials say they found gold coins among the donations in a Salvation Army kettle in Florida. 
 
 A Sun Sentinel report says it's the fourth consecutive year that someone has dropped gold 1947 Mexican 50-peso coins into the kettle outside a store in Pompano Beach. 
 
 The Salvation Army of Broward County said two of the coins were discovered Wednesday. Another one was found Nov. 27. 
 
 Officials said all the coins were wrapped in dollar bills. 
 
 Each coin is worth a little more than $1,300. 
 
 Alyse Gossman, the Salvation Army of Broward County's director of development, says a donor typically purchases the coins after the Christmas season. 
 
 The organization says holiday donations in the red kettles help provide meals, shelter, clothing and social services to more than 25,000 people in the county. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Information from: Sun Sentinel , http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
– An anonymous person dropped a single gold coin worth about $1,200 in a Salvation Army kettle in South Carolina. The 1-ounce South African Krugerrand was dropped into a Salvation Army kettle during a fundraising drive at a Walmart store in Tega Cay, the Herald reports. The coin will likely be sold to a jeweler's store, with proceeds going to Salvation Army programs. Mike McGee of the Salvation Army in Rock Hill says a typical kettle fundraiser will raise about $300 a day, the AP reports. "We would like to say thank you to the donor who dropped the gold coin into the kettle," McGee says. "Your generosity helps us fight for good in our community all year. God bless you." (Other extraordinary donations have included gold teeth, pot, and a $500,000 check.)