Gold coin found in church donation jar is valued at $525

Church members were sorting through the church's donation "penny jar," which is emptied routinely to raise money for the church's outreach programs.

A gold coin was found in a church’s donation “penny jar” on June 11.

Church member Ronald Kimmich discovered the coin while sorting through the jar, which is emptied routinely to raise money for the church’s outreach programs.

“I couldn’t tell if it was a quarter, nickel or a dime,” says Ronald. “It wasn’t until I put my glasses on that I said ‘Ah, I can see it, it says 1909!’”

The gold coin, minted in 1909, that was found in the Covenant United Methodist Church "penny jar," was valued at about $525 by local coin shops.

Ronald had discovered a $5 1909 Littleton Indian Head gold coin, minted in 1909. It was then that his wife, Chris Kimmich, and other penny-sorters figured that the coin could be worth something.

“We were excited,” says Ronald. “We showed it to a friend of ours that collects coins and he told us to take it to a coin collector.”

Gold coins are valued by their weight in gold with additional consideration to their rarity, condition and historical significance, according to the US Money Reserve. The same $5 1909 Littleton coin is listed online on eBay, littletoncoin.com and Integrity Coin Store with prices ranging from $400 to $2000.

Chris and Ronald took the coin to two Lancaster coin dealers, one of which offered $525 to buy the gold coin. According to Chris, all the other pennies in the bucket only added up to about $250.

“We’ll definitely be cashing it in,” says Chris. “We’ll use the money that we receive [from the coin] for the church and for outreach.”

The church, located on Mulberry Street in Lancaster, has several programs involving itself in the community, including a clothing closet, creating food boxes and hosting activities at local elementary schools.

This isn’t the first time an expensive gold coin has shown up in a donation basket. In 1997, the Salvation Army anonymously received gold coins during their annual holiday kettle drives at several locations around the county. This holiday trend locally happened here and there until the early 2010s, but nationwide drives have reported these "Secret Santa” gifts each year.

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