5 awesome, weird things dropped into Salvation Army kettles

Gold teeth

Gold rings

Rings seem to be a common donation item, perhaps because they're aptly sized for the coin slot on the buckets. That same 2005 USA Today story said the Salvation Army found 18 gold rings in its York, Pennsylvania, kettles alone. Sometimes, rings fall in the kettles by accident, according to a Wall Street Journal article on odd things that the Salvation Army finds.

Despite common accidental "donations," many people choose to give rings. Last year, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, an anonymous widow donated her engagement ring and wedding ring, accompanied by a note saying it was to honor her late husband, who was a "giver," CBS Boston reported. Another widow actually bought the rings for $21,000 (more than their appraised value) and returned the rings to the original donor, the Boston Globe reported.

A diamond-encrusted cross

Viagra

Gold coins

Based on news coverage from the last few years, it seems that gold coins are among the most common donations that aren't cash or checks. The Mahoning County, Ohio, Salvation Army reported finding two gold coins worth $1,000 each already this season, and a 1978 South African Krugerrand, worth $1,200, turned up in Springfield, Ohio, wrapped in a $100 bill.

That same kind of coin was discovered in Mishawaka, Indiana, in 2014, and a 2013 news story out of Kokomo, Ind., said a donor had given these rare coins to the Salvation Army five years in a row. Last year, someone in Libertyville, Illinois, gift-wrapped seven Swiss francs, worth about $1,500 total. It was the fourth year in a row that happened.