Christmas is the season of giving and lately, throughout the world, people have been more generous than ever. We have all passed the humble volunteers ringing a bell with a kettle in front of a department store and perhaps you were in the giving spirit and generously donated a few dollars. Some people, who remain anonymous, have been giving more — in the form of gold.

According to the Calgary Herald, a gold coin valued at $1200 was found in their Salvation Army kettle during processing of the day’s donations. Spokeswoman, Pam Goodyear, added that it, “is a wonderful surprise and a great donation”.

In Torrington, Connecticut an 1881 $5 Gold Eagle was anonymously dropped into a Salvation Army bucket and was discovered later when the automatic change counting machine routinely rejected it.

According to WGAL8 News in York, Pennsylvania, another good Samaritan dropped a gold South African Krugerrand wrapped in a $1 bill into the red kettle. The coin is valued at over $1200.

This series of gold coin donations is happening all over the country and there is almost too many instances to list. Is this an act of good faith by the world’s patrons or is this a publicity stunt created by the Salvation Army to encourage more donations? The folks over at MuseumOfHoaxes.com seem to think it may be a stunt, but even if it is I think everyone agrees that it is for a good cause and brings in more donations.