OTTUMWA — Counting the contents of the Ottumwa Salvation Army’s red kettles has its own strange tension.
You know the contents are going to help. It’s money, after all. Sometimes a fair amount. But it’s also money your organization needs to function, to help people in the coming year. If the campaign doesn’t do well, it hurts. So that’s why there is tension, especially in a year like this when things are going slowly.
The little wad of paper didn’t look like much. Not really. It came out of a kettle from Ottumwa’s south Hy-Vee and there was nothing remarkable about it on the surface. Maybe a scrap someone didn’t realize was caught between a few coins.
But it’s better to check than throw it out. As the volunteer unwrapped it, they found a $100 bill. That caught Capt. Paul Ferguson’s attention. It’s an unusual bill and a generous donation. The volunteer looked again and realized the bill wasn’t wadded up. It was wrapped around something.
The bill, in fact, was the smallest part of the donation. Inside were three 1889 sovereigns, British coins about the size of a nickel made of gold. Each is worth about $230.
The coins are in pristine condition, with none of the wear that marks the change you probably have in your pocket. They’re in such good shape that Ferguson initially thought they had to be replicas. The coin dealers he showed them to assured him they are the real thing.
Ferguson, new on the job in Ottumwa, was floored.
“I’ve only been here four months myself, but a few people here have said it has happened before,” he said. “Value aside, they’re very generous gifts.”
Gold coins show up in Salvation Army kettles every year around the country. But Ferguson thinks these are special. They date to the time when the church was first established in Ottumwa. The obverse image of Queen Victoria is instantly recognizable.
And they come in a tough year. The organization’s angel trees are doing very well. The kettles, not so much.
“Right now we’re at about 25 percent of our goal, so it’s not going as well as we’d like,” Ferguson said. “But in response to that, my heart tells me God is going to take care of us.”
With a surprise wrapped in an unremarkable scrap of paper, that’s what happened Thursday night.
Matt Milner can be reached at (641) 683-5359 or via e-mail at mwmilner@mchsi.com
Local News
A heart of gold
Anonymous donor drops three gold coins wrapped in $100 bill into kettle
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