金幣悄悄出現在美國各地的救世軍水壺中

節慶期間，救世軍的紅水壺和敲鐘志工是商店前常見的景象。

During the holiday season, the Salvation Army’s red kettles and bell-ringing volunteers are a common sight in front of stores. This annual campaign, which dates back more than 130 years, helps raise money for the Christian charity’s social programs.

節慶期間，救世軍的紅水壺和敲鐘志工是商店前常見的景象。這項一年一度的活動可以追溯到 130 多年前，旨在為基督教慈善機構的社會計畫籌集資金。

Some donors dig around in their purses or open up their wallets to look for spare change to drop into the kettles. But others have been quietly sliding valuable coins—worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars—into Salvation Army buckets across the United States.

有些捐贈者在錢包裡翻來翻去，或是打開錢包尋找多餘的零錢，放進水壺裡。但其他人卻悄悄地將價值數百甚至數千美元的寶貴硬幣投入美國各地的救世軍桶中。

This year, the mysterious treasures have turned up in Illinois, Arizona, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, California, Kansas, South Dakota, Oregon and North Dakota. It’s not clear whether the donations are connected. But either way, the nonprofit’s leaders are appreciative of the generosity.

今年，這些神秘寶藏出現在伊利諾伊州、亞利桑那州、俄亥俄州、賓夕法尼亞州、密西根州、加利福尼亞州、堪薩斯州、南達科他州、俄勒岡州和北達科他州。目前尚不清楚這些捐款是否有關聯。但無論如何，非營利組織的領導者都對這種慷慨表示讚賞。

“We’re grateful for every penny, to be honest,” says Jeff Walters, who works with the Salvation Army of Marion and Polk Counties in Oregon, to the Salem Reporter’s Abbey McDonald. “But something like this stands out.”

「說實話，我們感謝每一分錢，」在俄勒岡州馬里恩縣和波爾克縣救世軍工作的傑夫·沃爾特斯(Jeff Walters) 對《塞勒姆記者報》的艾比·麥克唐納納(Abbey McDonald) 說。 “但像這樣的事情很引人注目。”

Walters is referring to a 1927 $20 double eagle gold coin, which is worth around $2,600. An anonymous donor dropped the coin into one of the group’s red kettles over Thanksgiving weekend.

沃特斯指的是 1927 年發行的 20 美元雙鷹金幣，價值約 2,600 美元。感恩節週末，一位匿名捐贈者將硬幣扔進了該組織的一個紅水壺中。

“Whoever gave this to us trusts us to put this gold to good use to make a difference in this community,” he adds.

「無論誰給了我們這些黃金，都相信我們會充分利用這些黃金，為這個社區帶來改變，」他補充道。

Volunteers in Napa County, California, were counting up the day’s donations a few days before Christmas when they found a South African Krugerrand gold coin among the U.S. currency. It weighed just an ounce, but it may be worth thousands of dollars, per the San Francisco Chronicle’s Nora Mishanec.

聖誕節前幾天，加州納帕縣的志工在清點當天的捐款時，在美元中發現了一枚南非克魯格金幣。根據《舊金山紀事報》的諾拉·米沙內克報道，它的重量只有一盎司，但可能價值數千美元。

Krugerrand coins feature a portrait of Paul Kruger, who served as president of the South African Republic from 1883 to 1900. The coins were first minted in 1967 during a period of international sanctions, with an overarching goal of bringing foreign investment to South Africa, according to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

克魯格硬幣上刻有保羅·克魯格(Paul Kruger) 的肖像，他於1883 年至1900 年擔任南非共和國總統。總體目標是將外國投資引入南非。

“This is not a coin you carry in your pocket to toss anywhere,” Larry Carmichael, who works with the Salvation Army of Napa, tells the San Francisco Chronicle. “Whoever had it was intentional about where they were donating it.”

「這不是一枚可以放在口袋裡隨處扔的硬幣，」納帕救世軍的拉里·卡邁克爾告訴《舊金山紀事報》。 “無論誰擁有它，他們都會有意將其捐贈到哪裡。”

A similar situation unfolded in Washington County, Pennsylvania, where Salvation Army volunteers discovered an Elizabeth II coin wrapped inside a $1 bill. According to CBS Pittsburgh’s Barry Pintar, it was accompanied by a brief note indicating that the donor wished to remain anonymous. After getting the coin appraised, the charity’s leaders learned it was worth more than $2,700, per the Observer-Reporter’s Karen Mansfield.

賓州華盛頓縣也出現了類似的情況，救世軍志工在那裡發現了一枚包裹在 1 美元鈔票內的伊莉莎白二世硬幣。據哥倫比亞廣播公司匹茲堡的巴里·平塔爾報道，它還附有一條簡短的說明，表明捐贈者希望保持匿名。據《觀察家記者報》的凱倫·曼斯菲爾德報道，在對這枚硬幣進行估價後，該慈善機構的領導得知這枚硬幣的價值超過 2,700 美元。

This is the fourth year in a row that a gold coin has been found in one of the local group’s red kettles.

這是連續第四年在當地的一個紅水壺中發現金幣。

“What it says to me is that there is still hope for people out here in this world,” says Thomas Perez, who works with the Salvation Army in Washington, to CBS Pittsburgh. “A lot of people have lost hope and think that the world is full of evil and there’s no more love and joy and compassion in this world. This shows me that there is compassion left in this world.”

「這對我來說是，這個世界上的人們仍然有希望，」在華盛頓救世軍工作的托馬斯·佩雷斯對哥倫比亞廣播公司匹茲堡說道。 「很多人失去了希望，認為世界充滿了邪惡，這個世界上不再有愛、歡樂和同情心。這讓我知道，這個世界上還存在著同情心。

In Phoenix, volunteers discovered a half-ounce gold American eagle coin in their red kettle. It was attached to a handwritten note that read: “May this gold help the people in need during the Christmas season. Bless you all.” The charity sold the coin for $1,310, reports the Arizona Republic’s Jose R. Gonzalez.

在鳳凰城，志工在他們的紅水壺裡發現了一枚半盎司的美國鷹金幣。它附有一張手寫的便條，上面寫著：「願這些黃金在聖誕節期間幫助有需要的人。祝福你們大家。根據亞利桑那共和報的 Jose R. Gonzalez 報道，該慈善機構以 1,310 美元的價格出售了這枚硬幣。

In November, an anonymous donor in Fargo, North Dakota, left a 2016 Australian gold kangaroo coin worth nearly $3,000, per the Forum. Weeks later, someone slipped four gold coins worth collectively around $6,800 into various Salvation Army kettles around town, reports KVRR’s TJ Nelson.

根據論壇報道，11 月，北達科他州法哥市的一位匿名捐贈者留下了一枚 2016 年澳洲袋鼠金幣，價值近 3,000 美元。根據 KVRR 的 TJ Nelson 報道，幾週後，有人將四枚金幣放入鎮上各個救世軍水壺中，總價值約為 6,800 美元。

The Salvation Army’s annual red kettle campaign dates back to 1891, when Joseph McFee, one of the group’s leaders in San Francisco, raised money to provide a free Christmas dinner to 1,000 of the city’s poorest residents. These days, the initiative raises millions of dollars every year.

救世軍一年一度的紅水壺活動可以追溯到 1891 年，當時舊金山該組織的領導人之一約瑟夫·麥克菲 (Joseph McFee) 籌集資金，為該市 1,000 名最貧困的居民提供免費聖誕晚餐。如今，該倡議每年籌集數百萬美元。