When you visit cemeteries, you can discover that past visitors have left pennies on the headstones of military members.
Depending on the coin’s denomination, these coins have different significance when placed on the headstones of veterans, particularly those who gave their lives while serving in the Canadian Armed Forces.
Commemorating military personnel with coins on their headstones is a custom that dates back to the Roman Empire.
The purpose of a coin placed on a headstone or at the graveyard is to inform the family of the fallen soldier that someone else has paid their respects.
- Leaving a penny at the grave signifies only your presence.
- A nickel signifies that you received boot camp training alongside the deceased.
- A dime denotes some sort of service rendered to the departed.
- By giving the family a quarter, you are letting them know that you were present when the soldier was slain.
Because of the political division over the war in the United States, this technique grew widespread during the Vietnam War.
Leaving a penny at the tomb was a more practical method to indicate that you had paid your respects than calling the soldier’s family, which might lead to an awkward debate about wartime politics.
When their deceased colleagues would eventually be reunited, some Vietnam soldiers would leave pennies as a “down payment” to purchase a beer or play a game of cards.
These more modern times still see coins on both military and non-military markers in addition to other modest artifacts, such as tombstones placed at the head of the burial site or plaques sitting atop the sod.
