Connecticut Salvation Army volunteers got a pleasant surprise when they found a rare "half eagle" coin that had been dropped into one of the collection kettles.
The 1881 gold piece has a face value of five bucks.
But Salvation Army officials say it could be worth as much as $400.
They're having the gold coin appraised.
Charity officials realized they had something special when the gold piece wouldn't go through their change counting machine.
