Todd McMahon

USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

GREEN BAY – This week’s holiday rush became a gold rush for The Salvation Army of Greater Green Bay.

A day after agency leaders and volunteers were stunned to find 33 gold coins worth nearly $40,000 in the Salvation Army’s red kettles at five stores in the Green Bay area Thursday, seven more gold coins turned up Friday in a red kettle at Webster Avenue Market in Allouez.

“It was just so surreal yesterday,” Major Bob Mueller, the Salvation Army’s local coordinator, said Friday about the end-of-the-day counting of kettle donations that was done Thursday night. “We didn’t want to get too excited if somebody was playing a practical joke on us.”

The hefty pre-Christmas gift, deposited anonymously by what officials believe to be one donor, was touted by Mueller as an unprecedented donation of gold coins for the Salvation Army.

“We were all skeptical because 33 (gold) coins … is the once-in-a-lifetime thing," Dan Rothe, manager at American Antiques & Jewelry, said about Thursday's donations.

The Green Bay store appraised all 33 coins Friday. They are identical 2016 American Eagle Gold Coins, each weighing just more than an ounce with a value of $1,130.

Similar coins were those discovered at kettle pick-up time for Webster Avenue Market on Friday.

The 40 coins meant a total donation of $45,200 for the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Campaign, which ends Saturday.

A South African Krugerrand valued at $1,160 was left in the red kettle at De Pere’s Festival Foods on Dec. 13.

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The coins were left in the red kettles Thursday at Festival Foods, Walgreens and Walmart on De Pere’s west side, Sam’s Club on Green Bay’s west side and Woodman’s Markets in Howard.

Though agency staff and others wondered whether the big donations were the doing of as many as 33 different people, Rothe speculated it was the generosity of only one person.

“I think it’s somebody in your community that just loves the community,” he said.

Salvation Army officials asked Guinness World Records on Friday to see if the donation is a record number of gold coins donated in a single day to a holiday fundraising campaign. They were told a form must be submitted before a determination is made.

The local Salvation Army this week also received a donation of $110,862 from the Green Bay Packers. Of that amount, $76,036 came from five Packers players’ autograph signings, which included a matching donation by quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Red kettles will be set up near Lambeau Field on Saturday morning before the Packers’ noon game against the Minnesota Vikings.

The Red Kettle Campaign is part of the Salvation Army’s Christmas Campaign, which ends Jan. 31. The Christmas Campaign aims to raise $1 million to help provide year-round programs and services to nearly 20,000 needy residents in Brown County.

Factoring in the value of the 41 gold coins donated this month, the Salvation Army has raised more than $910,000 in the Christmas Campaign.

tmcmaho2@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @ToddMcMahon23