Coins on a gravestone

[bulletproof002000]

While paying respects to a fallen veteran the other day, I placed a Dime on his gravestone. A young lady watched me do so, and her curiosity caused her to ask me why. I explained the tradition and bid her good day. It started me thinking that few non-military people know of the age old tradition. As I teach World history at a local high school, I decided to give a short lesson to my students on the subject. They were very intrigued and responsive to the lesson, and now i wanted to share with any who care on Treasure net.

These coins have distinct meanings when left on the headstones of those who gave their life while serving in America's military, and these meanings vary depending on the denomination of coin. A coin left on a headstone or at the grave site is meant as a message to the deceased soldier's family that someone else has visited the grave to pay respect. A penny at the grave means simply that you visited. A nickel indicates that you and the deceased trained at boot camp together, while a dime means you served with him in some capacity. By leaving a quarter at the grave, you are telling the family that you were with the soldier when he was killed. Money left at graves in national cemeteries and state veterans cemeteries is eventually collected, and the funds are put toward maintaining the cemetery or paying burial costs for indigent veterans.

Just wanted to share, thanks for reading.

 

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[Terry Soloman]

Thank You! US Army 1973-'76 1/41 FA

 

[Mudflap]

Thanks for telling the kids. Sometimes they don't find good information like this in a book. Not detecting but walking a cemetery I once found an early 1800s large cent on the ground next to a tombstone. Shoved it about 3 inches into the dirt so it could stay with the deceased. Good karma...

 

[dognose]

Thanks for sharing that information.

 

[EnvoyToTheMolePeople]

Thank you for sharing this, I certainly never would have learned it on my own. Is this ever done outside the US, specifically in Canada?

 

[IDXMonster]

Fascinating stuff Bullet! I have seen coins on graves but never understood why. That is really cool info that I, like the fellow above, would’ve never learned otherwise. Thanks!

 

[Gare]

Thank you for explaining this. Now i have visited a Jewish cemetery and seen stones placed on gravestones. Does anyone know what this means ?

 

[RGINN]

Thanks for sharing that. When I see a vet's grave I leave a penny. I've heard about stones on Jewish gravestones and remember there is a reason. On some of my Native American friends graves they leave seashells, I'm not sure of the reason for that though. And on Buffalo Bill's grave on Lookout Mountain, there's all kinds of change, but I never knew the reason for it. (And do not throw anything on Elvis' grave, believe me.)

 

[Honest Samuel]

A great idea, thank you for sharing.

 

[xcopperstax]

A couple years ago I was in Fall River Ma. and went to find Lizzie Borden's grave with my mom. The grave was covered in coins. I looked it up and it seems like some people do it to ask a favor of the dead. In her case and given her history it made me wonder what kind of favors people were looking for. You know there were probably some sinister wishes going on there.

 

[Trezurehunter]

Although I am old enough to know what the coins mean, since you are a History Teacher, I'm glad you took the time to teach or explain it to the younger generation. This is just my personal opinion, but I think history to this upcoming generation is an Iphone 8 ! History was my favorite subject in school, and back then, I'm glad to have had the opportunity to have learned what I did. That's another reason why I enjoy this hobby so much. I try to research every item that I find, and learn about it.

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

Interesting information..is this the tradition you were taught by family? I'm just wondering if this is an old military tradition that is uniform across the country or if it is regional with varying meanings?

I have visited a few local rural cemeteries and can't say I ever saw the majority of the military graves having change on the headstones.

 

[Toecutter]

Thank you, this is some thing I had no idea about....

 

[Gold Maven]

Very interesting, I had never heard that.

I visited Cy Young's grave once, there were 2 baseballs, and handfulls of change there. I added some change, assuming it was simply to show respect...

 

[bulletproof002000]

We were taught the tradition while in boot camp, and again in tech school. I was Air Force Para-rescue, so there were all kinds of traditions and superstitions that were learned. We were told that it goes all the way back to the Roman soldiers.

 

[A2coins]

Good info

 

[DetecTom]

That is really interesting. I had no idea. Thanks for sharing!

 

[against the wind]

I knew about the placement on coins on headstones but wasn't sure what they meant.
Thanks for sharing.

 

[Dave Rishar]

https://www.wearethemighty.com/military-culture/coins-left-on-headstones

The idea that different coins mean different things seems to be relatively modern. This was certainly not taught to recruits back in the nineties.

 

[Rookster]

Thanks for sharing.