If you find a coin on the grave of a loved one, you should know what it means.

There are different ways for each of us to remember and honor family members who have died.

Today, it should be expected that people will respect the customs of others when they honor the lives of those who have died. For some, that might mean doing things or following traditions that the rest of us don’t understand, but that doesn’t make them any less valid.

The same is true for gravestones and the ways that some families choose to decorate the places where their loved ones are buried. Most of the time, people put coins on gravestones, which is probably something you’ve seen before. But why is this there? Where did it come from? Continue reading to learn more…

People do this in cemeteries all over the US and other countries as well. They put coins on gravestones. As a child, I saw it for the first time when I went to see my grandfather’s grave. I started to wonder what it was all about even then.

Luckily, it doesn’t take much digging online to find out where it came from. Once upon a time, people thought that the practice went back to Roman military forces, but in recent years, many sources have put that idea to rest.

Still, putting coins on gravestones has something to do with the military. Some say it goes back to the Vietnam War. The American Legion website says:

“Because of the political divide in the country over the war, leaving a coin was seen as a more practical way to let people know you had visited the grave than calling the soldier’s family, which could lead to an awkward argument about war politics.”

Veterans who want to honor their fallen comrades may also leave coins on gravestones, sometimes with the intention of buying the person a beer. Reports say that every coin stands for a different thing.

For example, a penny just means that someone was there, while a nickel means that it was left by someone who went to boot camp with the person who died.

A dime, on the other hand, shows how long both people served in the military together. Then there are quarters, which tell the family that the person who left the coin was with the person when they died.

Have you ever seen someone leave a coin on a grave? Did you understand? Share your thoughts below.