WE KNOW WHO IT'S NOT:

Gold coins are glittering mystery for Salvation Army (JAN DENNIS, December 20, 2004, Chicago Sun-Times)

The Salvation Army has mined gold from its red holiday kettles for nearly a quarter century, anonymous gifts of gold coins that have tapped a rich vein of urban legend.

Agency officials say it's a mystery. They don't know why the gold coins -- some worth hundreds of dollars -- end up in bell ringers' kettles each year, they say, but they have their theories.

The coin droppers might have been helped by the relief agency in the past. Or they might just like the thrill of seeing the anonymous donation play out in the media, said Cliff Marshall, spokesman for the Metropolitan Division of the Salvation Army, which oversees the corps in Chicago and its suburbs.

One woman called last summer to say her late mother had left coins in the kettles each year because she like the buzz it created.

But that call is the only clue to the Chicago coins' source, Marshall said, and it doesn't explain the more than 300 coins found in area kettles over the last 23 years.