If you visit a cemetery, particularly a military cemetery, you may notice some headstones have coins left on them. Coins left on military headstones have special meanings depending on which type of coin is left.
If you visit a cemetery, particularly a military cemetery, you may notice some headstones have coins left on them. Coins left on military headstones have special meanings depending on which type of coin is left.
A penny signifies that the giver visited that gravesite.
A nickel means the giver and the deceased veteran trained in boot camp together.
A dime means the giver and the deceased veteran were in the service together.
A quarter is the most significant because the giver was present when the veteran died.
The tradition of using coins for the deceased can be traced back to the Roman Empire. At that time, coins were placed in the mouth of the deceased to be used as fare to cross the River Styx into the afterlife.
This practice became common during the Vietnam war. Due to the political divide in the country regarding the war, it was sometimes difficult or uncomfortable to contact a deceased veteran’s family. Instead, visitors would leave coins on a veteran's grave to let the family know they had visited.
The coins left on veterans’ headstones are collected and used to maintain the cemetery or pay for funeral costs for veterans who cannot pay.
These days, coins or other small tokens are left on military headstones as well as nonmilitary markers. In this case, if the deceased is not a veteran, the coins may simply be used to show that someone has visited. However, a nickel may mean that the giver went to school with the deceased. A dime may mean that the giver and the deceased worked together and a quarter may mean that the giver was there when they died.
In this case, the coins are typically collected at certain times of the year and used for cemetery improvements or maintenance.
