A Salvation Army worker in Indiana was shocked to discover a rare and valuable historical treasure at the bottom of his red kettle on Monday.
According to ABC News, George Shull was ringing the iconic Salvation Army bell in front of a Sam's Club in Mishawaka, Ind., when someone dropped a $20 gold piece from 1904 into the kettle.
Shull, who has been a bell ringer for 30 years -- including eight years in front of the Sam's Club in Mishawaka -- told ABC that he usually receives only $400 a day.
The gold coin alone, however, is worth a whopping $1,800.
The coin was wrapped in a white piece of paper inscribed with a quote from William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army.
It said, "Work as if everything depended upon work and pray as if everything depended on prayer."
“You know, isn’t it awesome that people really just sometimes do things for the right reason,” said Major Bob Webster of the Salvation Army to WSBT News. “To be able to help somebody, and they don’t have to have all the pomp and circumstance that goes with it.”
According to WSBT News, this isn't the first time the Salvation Army in the area has received a valuable gold coin -- Monday marked the third straight year of anonymous gold coin donations.
And another gold coin -- its exact value unknown -- was donated to the Salvation Army in Houston, Tex., on Tuesday.
"Even though it is a significant monetary donation, it's so much more significant in the motivation it gives our kettle workers," Juan Alanis, the Salvation Army spokesman for the Houston area, told the Houston Chronicle. "It lets them know that what they're doing is for a purpose and people actually believe in what they're doing out there every day."
According to the Houston Chronicle, the Salvation Army has received hundreds of gold coins from anonymous donors for more than 25 years.