Why Are Pennies Left on Grave Markers?

Walk across nearly any cemetery in America, and you'll find several graves adorned with flowers. Few question why people leave flowers on a gravestone. But why do people leave pennies or other coins on a gravestone? When did that lesser-known tradition begin?

History

Traditionally, coins were left on grave markers as a sign that the deceased was well-loved and respected. They were markers that this grave had been visited, that guests had been present to pay respects. In fact, coins were seen on graves long before people began leaving flowers, which is a relatively recent practice (a few hundred years old).

Beliefs

Some cultures believed that coins paid for one's journey in the afterlife. In Greek mythology, money was used to pay the ferryman, Charon, for safe passage across the river Styx. The legend claimed that those without money to present to Charon would be left to wander the shores of the damned for all eternity.

Favors

Coins left at graves also have been used as a way to ask a favor of the deceased, perhaps to help solve a problem or to acquire something in particular. Others have claimed to leave coins in supplication to a god, similar to an offering at a church or religious organization, or as an offering to God to make sure that the deceased is all right in the afterlife.

Benjamin Franklin's Impact

The American tradition of leaving pennies on the grave dates back to Benjamin Franklin's funeral, when his grave was covered in pennies left by the thousands who came from around the country to pay their respects. It's easy to see that the more pennies left on the grave, the more esteem was bestowed on the deceased by the public.

In God We Trust

Finally, some believe that leaving pennies on a grave is a symbol of the words on the coin: "In God We Trust." Those leaving the pennies are offering up to God their trust for the deceased, and for themselves, the living.

References

• Personalized Gravestones