ALTON - Gold coins aren’t easy to come by and The Salvation Army in Alton received a “huge donation” over the final weekend before Christmas. A one-ounce gold coin estimated at about $1,200 in value by Salvation Army Lt. Steve Reinier, was uncovered Monday morning.

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Lt. Reinier said he and those who counted the weekend contributions were excited, to say the least, about finding the valuable coin as the 2018 bell-ringing campaign comes to an end.

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“Things went very well,” he said of the final holiday weekend. “We received that gold coin and a valuable ring earlier, so that should take us down to right around $4,000 of getting to our goal of $90,000. The ring was appraised at around $2,000. We still have one day left to count.”

Lt. Reinier encouraged residents to give today at the area locations. The Schnucks locations in Alton and Godfrey and the Godfrey Walmart have both been exceptionally busy places for Salvation Army kettle donors. The Alton-Godfrey Rotary Club had a big day Saturday at the Godfrey Walmart.

Schnucks has supported the Salvation Army through its “Round-Up at the Register” program and those contributions are also not yet counted, Lt. Reinier said.

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