金币悄然出现在美国各地的救世军水壶中

节日期间，救世军的红水壶和敲钟志愿者是商店门前常见的景象。

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.

节日期间，救世军的红水壶和敲钟志愿者是商店门前常见的景象。这项一年一度的活动可以追溯到 130 多年前，旨在为基督教慈善机构的社会项目筹集资金。

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.

一些捐赠者在钱包里翻来翻去，或者打开钱包寻找多余的零钱，放进水壶里。但其他人却悄悄地将价值数百甚至数千美元的宝贵硬币投入到美国各地的救世军桶中。

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，这些神秘宝藏出现在伊利诺伊州、亚利桑那州、俄亥俄州、宾夕法尼亚州、密歇根州、加利福尼亚州、堪萨斯州、南达科他州、俄勒冈州和北达科他州。目前尚不清楚这些捐款是否有关联。但无论如何，非营利组织的领导者都对这种慷慨表示赞赏。

“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.”

“说实话，我们感谢每一分钱，”在俄勒冈州马里恩县和波尔克县救世军工作的杰夫·沃尔特斯 (Jeff Walters) 对《塞勒姆记者报》的艾比·麦克唐纳 (Abbey McDonald) 说道。 “但像这样的事情很引人注目。”

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.

沃尔特斯指的是 1927 年发行的 20 美元双鹰金币，价值约 2,600 美元。感恩节周末，一位匿名捐赠者将硬币扔进了该组织的一个红水壶中。

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

“无论谁给了我们这些黄金，都相信我们会充分利用这些黄金，为这个社区带来改变，”他补充道。

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.

圣诞节前几天，加利福尼亚州纳帕县的志愿者在清点当天的捐款时，在美元中发现了一枚南非克鲁格金币。据《旧金山纪事报》的诺拉·米沙内克报道，它的重量只有一盎司，但可能价值数千美元。

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.

克鲁格硬币上刻有保罗·克鲁格 (Paul Kruger) 的肖像，他于 1883 年至 1900 年担任南非共和国总统。据介绍，这些硬币于 1967 年首次铸造，当时正值国际制裁时期，其总体目标是将外国投资引入南非。前往史密森尼美国历史国家博物馆。

“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.”

“这不是一枚可以放在口袋里随处扔的硬币，”纳帕救世军的拉里·卡迈克尔告诉《旧金山纪事报》。 “无论谁拥有它，他们都会有意将其捐赠到哪里。”

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.

宾夕法尼亚州华盛顿县也出现了类似的情况，救世军志愿者在那里发现了一枚包裹在 1 美元钞票内的伊丽莎白二世硬币。据哥伦比亚广播公司匹兹堡的巴里·平塔尔报道，它还附有一条简短的说明，表明捐赠者希望保持匿名。据《观察家记者报》的凯伦·曼斯菲尔德报道，在对这枚硬币进行估价后，该慈善机构的领导得知这枚硬币的价值超过 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.

这是连续第四年在当地的一个红水壶中发现金币。

“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.”

“这对我来说是，这个世界上的人们仍然有希望，”在华盛顿救世军工作的托马斯·佩雷斯对哥伦比亚广播公司匹兹堡说道。 “很多人失去了希望，认为世界充满了邪恶，这个世界上不再有爱、欢乐和同情心。这让我知道，这个世界上还存在着同情心。”

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.

在凤凰城，志愿者在他们的红水壶里发现了一枚半盎司的美国鹰金币。它附有一张手写的便条，上面写着：“愿这些黄金在圣诞节期间帮助有需要的人。祝福你们大家。”据亚利桑那共和报的 Jose R. Gonzalez 报道，该慈善机构以 1,310 美元的价格出售了这枚硬币。

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.

据论坛报道，11 月，北达科他州法戈市的一位匿名捐赠者留下了一枚 2016 年澳大利亚袋鼠金币，价值近 3,000 美元。据 KVRR 的 TJ Nelson 报道，几周后，有人将四枚金币放入镇上各个救世军水壶中，总价值约为 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.

救世军一年一度的红水壶活动可以追溯到 1891 年，当时旧金山该组织的领导人之一约瑟夫·麦克菲 (Joseph McFee) 筹集资金，为该市 1,000 名最贫困的居民提供免费圣诞晚餐。如今，该倡议每年筹集数百万美元。