Coin collection in donated desk is returned

When Charlie Roberts' sister divorced, she sent him three pieces of furniture, a desk, bureau and bookshelf.

Because Roberts had no room for the desk, he donated it to a St. Vincent de Paul thrift store, which picked it up from his Beacon Hill home earlier this month.

So he was shocked when he got a call from the charity telling him a collector box of coins was found in one of the dresser drawers.

"This was very cool," said Roberts, 50. "It just backs up their reputation as a good group, and I like how they took the effort to track the donor in a short period of time."

Roberts, who doesn't know the value of the coins, said they belonged to his father, who died in 1984. While not a coin collector, he said his father picked up coins as a hobby. Many of them were at least 60 years old and silver, and the stash included some foreign money.

Roberts said he had no idea the coin collection had been hidden in his sister's desk. He said some of the coins are in books, some in sleeves and all are old and dirty.

He said he'll now contact his sister and see if she wants him to get the coins appraised.

Richard Bray, director of donations with St. Vincents, said he is happy the Burien store manager, My Hong Bui, noticed the coin box and found Roberts. "I'm really proud of our store manager for doing the right thing," he said.

Bray said it's not the first time his agency has returned donated items to their owners. Last August, $10,000 was found stuffed in a projector at the Lynnwood St. Vincent store. The store didn't know who dropped off the projector but made a public appeal and the owner was found.

Susan Gilmore: 206-464-2054 or sgilmore@seattletimes.com