Woman leaves $40K of valuable coins at shrine

People often visit the National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes in Emmitsburg seeking spiritual healing.

Worshippers pray and light candles at the statue of the Virgin Mary to help along an answer to difficult questions, Grotto director William Tronolone said.

Sometimes they leave gifts.

But even Tronolone said he was surprised when a staff member discovered rare and valuable coins valued at about $40,000 in plastic bags Nov. 9. They had been concealed under a pile of leaves near the shrine's grotto.

"We thought someone had left a wonderful gift," he said.

When the woman who owned the coins returned Sunday to retrieve them, she told Tronolone she had needed to leave her home in Pennsylvania quickly and did not want to leave the coins at home.

The woman, whom Tronolone declined to identify, placed the coins near a statue in a location where most pilgrims visit. She was able to provide information proving they were her coins.

"She put her faith in that they would be protected," Tronolone said.

A security guard at the shrine helped the woman secure her coins in a safe deposit box, he said.

For a while, Tronolone said he worried that the gold and silver coins -- some dating to the 1800s -- may have been ill-gotten goods.

He contacted security, who called police to make sure the bounty had not been stolen. He also called in a coin appraiser from Mount St. Mary's University to estimate their worth.

"It's an amazing thing, over the past couple years, we get more and more gifts like this," Tronolone said. Even as the economy goes south, people give what they can, mostly in anonymity.

On some days, he'll find donations as large as $2,000.

One man left a note to the Blessed Mother about how he'd lost his job, had no health insurance for his wife with cancer and was fearful he'd lose his house. The note was wrapped in $20-dollar bills adding up to $1,600, Tronolone said.

"That was it; there was no way for me to find out who it was," he said.

Tronolone said he'll hold onto such gifts for about six months to make sure it wasn't a mistake or impulsive act that could lead to regret.

Another woman left an ornamental rug after her sister prayed to rid herself of cancer at the Grotto. Tronolone said the sister's illness is in remission, and the woman felt compelled to leave the only gift of value she had available.

"The ground is a place that people put a lot of trust in," he said. "I leave work every day saying 'no way.'"

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