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Salvation Army Gold Coin Mystery
A coin dropped into a Salvation Army kettle last week in Naperville has made headlines. It was a $400 gold coin wrapped in a $1 million bill (the $1 million bill was fake). This brings up the mystery of just who's behind this tradition of dropping gold coins into Salvation Army kettles. Apparently the tradition dates back to 1982, when a gold coin was dropped into a kettle in a Chicago suburb. Gold coins have shown up in kettles in many states ever since then. Some think the coins are donated by people who benefitted from the charity in the past. But others suspect it may all be a publicity stunt engineered by the Salvation Army itself. After all, news reports about the gold coins always seem to encourage more donations. I suppose it's a hoax for a good cause, if it is a hoax.Posted By: Alex | Date: Wed Dec 22, 2004 | Permalink |
Total Comments: 32
Category: Business/Finance
Category: Business/Finance
Listed in chronological order. Newest comments at the end.
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remember FX2?
Posted by Loxx on Wed Dec 22, 2004 at 02:16 PM
Damn, that's where I left that Krugerand. Think they'll give it back?
Posted by Hairy Houdini on Wed Dec 22, 2004 at 02:53 PM
Last year, I was standing with my two teenagers outside a bookstore in the city. There was a limo out front, the door opened, and Whoopi Goldberg got out.
She walked past us to the bell-ringer, and stood for a few minutes pushing what must have been hundreds of dollars into his bucket.
Not a hoax, but it left a lasting impression on my kids.
They both contributed that day, and were anxious to do it again this year.
Sometimes setting examples works.
Posted by new york guy in New York City on Wed Dec 22, 2004 at 02:55 PM
She walked past us to the bell-ringer, and stood for a few minutes pushing what must have been hundreds of dollars into his bucket.
Not a hoax, but it left a lasting impression on my kids.
They both contributed that day, and were anxious to do it again this year.
Sometimes setting examples works.
Of coures Whoopi could have gone to http://www.salvationarmyusa.com and donated online more conveniently and safely. Of course, then nobody would see her getting out of a limo and being generous. Then again, it did encourage your kids so I suppose publicity has its purpose.
Posted by Brian on Wed Dec 22, 2004 at 06:00 PM
Maybe it was a whim of the moment. Your average citizen might drop a dollar or five, and if you multiply that by the difference between an average salary and Whoopi's income, you'll see that "hundreds of dollars" is just pocket change to a mega star.
Posted by cvirtue on Thu Dec 23, 2004 at 06:32 AM
probablya stoy made up by the Salvation Army themselves. People don't like to admit it, but they ARE a cult, so be careful.
Posted by mr man on Thu Dec 23, 2004 at 07:22 AM
...What's FX2?
Posted by Maegan in Tampa, FL - USA on Thu Dec 23, 2004 at 07:30 AM
Nope!
Not a cult member!
I'm sure celebrities donate privately, but it was just nice to see it in person.
There was no attempt to bring attention to it either- just the opposite. She kinda just blended in.
Posted by new york guy- again on Thu Dec 23, 2004 at 11:10 AM
Not a cult member!
I'm sure celebrities donate privately, but it was just nice to see it in person.
There was no attempt to bring attention to it either- just the opposite. She kinda just blended in.
I did some aid work overseas, and maybe it's more different overseas than at home, but man the humanitarian business can be nasty. It is very competitive to the point where the competition hurts efforts instead of helps it. Aid agencies view the money as a pie and they are trying to get the biggest slice they can, and sometimes they will do almost unethical things to get it. The agency that I worked for claimed to have developed institutions that weren't actually created. Aid groups will talk trash about each other and won't share information that could help. One organization dug 400 wells that were too shallow... sounded great on paper that they dug 400 wells, but because they were so shallow the water wasn't potable and became a source of disease. Anyway, my point is, humanitarian aid is good, but aid orgs are a business like any other and can do unethical things.
Posted by Brian on Thu Dec 23, 2004 at 04:01 PM
FX2 is a movie involving a number of golden coins stolen from the vatican. (I think)
They are returned at the end of the movie
by being placed in the collection plate at a church
(or something like that, it's more than a decade since I saw it. (it's the sequel the FX/Murder by illusion and I think has the subtitle 'The deadly art of illusion' or something similar))
Posted by Sharruma on Fri Dec 24, 2004 at 05:55 PM
They are returned at the end of the movie
by being placed in the collection plate at a church
(or something like that, it's more than a decade since I saw it. (it's the sequel the FX/Murder by illusion and I think has the subtitle 'The deadly art of illusion' or something similar))
No matter what you think of them,they make a difference to a lot of people.
Posted by Evey on Sat Dec 25, 2004 at 11:30 AM
The Salvation Army uses money people donate to fight against Gay and Lesbian people in many countries throughout the world... So, your money helps fund HATRED.
Posted by SA Hates on Sun Dec 26, 2004 at 12:36 AM
SA Hates, if you're going to make an assertion like that you need to cite sources.
Posted by cvirtue on Sun Dec 26, 2004 at 08:05 AM
SA Hates, what do they do, use the money to buy guns so they can shoot us all? And how is that any different from your average American redneck?
Posted by James D on Sun Dec 26, 2004 at 01:33 PM
but somebody can also say that supporting gay people does promote AIDS, also that anti-AIDS compain is against gay life style which means it is anti-gay. Just don't be so nerrow minded. SA is organization that uses monney received from Normal people to help Normal people.
Posted by Loxx on Mon Dec 27, 2004 at 01:46 PM
The only HATE I can see it is a hate of freedom. Some people cannot stand person right to decide whom they want to like and help. These drones dream about some kind of highest power, a superman to make all choises, to split all money evenly between everybody.
If people do not like you and do not want to give you free stuff - do not blame people, look at yourself.
Posted by Grrr on Mon Dec 27, 2004 at 07:53 PM
If people do not like you and do not want to give you free stuff - do not blame people, look at yourself.
"but somebody can also say that supporting gay people does promote AIDS, also that anti-AIDS compain is against gay life style which means it is anti-gay."
Uh, that is making the incredibly stupid (for lack of a more polite way to say it) assumption that all gay people have or will get AIDS. That being gay causes AIDS. That gay people are the only people who get AIDS. I don't know what fantasy land "somebody" is in that they would say that, but it's about time they come back to the real world.
Posted by James D on Thu Dec 30, 2004 at 01:17 PM
Uh, that is making the incredibly stupid (for lack of a more polite way to say it) assumption that all gay people have or will get AIDS. That being gay causes AIDS. That gay people are the only people who get AIDS. I don't know what fantasy land "somebody" is in that they would say that, but it's about time they come back to the real world.
The US Army could totally kick the Salvation Army's butt!!!! Woo-hoo!!! GO USA!
Posted by brian on Mon Jan 03, 2005 at 11:53 AM
The Salvation Army had better disarm soon or else we should invade Salvatia.
Posted by skip on Tue Jan 04, 2005 at 06:26 PM
The scripture itself warn not to let pop culture/media/politics shape a person's thought process. Unfortunately religious groups like SA have fallen into the trap.
What happens when someone with a genius IQ spends 20 years looking over the "H0M0-S3X" issue in the Bible?
http://g0ys.org <-- that's what happens.
And what happens when that same person looks into SCRIPTURAL MARRIAGE vs. the thing the government pushes?
http://g0ys.org/marriage.htm
This leaves the salvation Army & those groups like them [501(c)(3)'churches', ex-gays, etc.] DAMNED - by their very own Bibles (Romans 2:1 doesn't budge). Of course, the people spreading Sexually Transmitted Diseases & claiming their torts against humanity are "rights" are just as damned; - as are those who support either group.
Stupid Judges. Lying Lawyers. Complicit Jurors.
Posted by Goyim Veh in International Sovereign on Wed Nov 23, 2005 at 01:14 AM
What happens when someone with a genius IQ spends 20 years looking over the "H0M0-S3X" issue in the Bible?
http://g0ys.org <-- that's what happens.
And what happens when that same person looks into SCRIPTURAL MARRIAGE vs. the thing the government pushes?
http://g0ys.org/marriage.htm
This leaves the salvation Army & those groups like them [501(c)(3)'churches', ex-gays, etc.] DAMNED - by their very own Bibles (Romans 2:1 doesn't budge). Of course, the people spreading Sexually Transmitted Diseases & claiming their torts against humanity are "rights" are just as damned; - as are those who support either group.
Stupid Judges. Lying Lawyers. Complicit Jurors.
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