A small package was put in the offering plate at Vine Street Christian Church on one of the first Sundays of Advent.
It was wrapped in plain white paper and secured with clear tape. The anonymous giver conveyed his or her wishes in simple, clear print: "Sell this and use the money for Vine Street's support of the poor & homeless."
Inside was a shiny Liberty $50 one-ounce gold coin.
"We opened it, unwrapped it, and bang! There comes this big coin," said Thomas Kleinert, senior minister at Vine Street.
Gold prices are through the roof right now. Church leaders quickly found a coin shop willing to pay them $1,070, slightly less than face value. But then somebody had a bright idea.
"We were just talking," he said. "Maybe someone would like to have that coin rather than the coin dealer."
So, on a whim and with nothing to lose, Vine Street set up an online auction form and put it on the church Web site. They sent word out on their mailing list to members and friends.
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