Why should you never touch coins left on a gravestone

Why should you never touch coins left on a gravestone?

Why Coins Matter on a Gravestone

Coins on a gravstone are not trash. They are not random couns. They are signs of love. They are signs of respect. In the USA and UK this is an old custom. Many famly members leave coins after they visit. In WWII vets did this too. Some vets still do this in Amercia in 2025.

The Meaning of Each Coin

In many cemetry groups and Dept of Vet Affairs notes, each coin has a meaning:

  • 1 cent = you visited

  • 5 cents = you trained together

  • 10 cents = you served together in the same unit

  • 25 cents = you were there when the soilder died

These are not random souvenr coins. They are signs from one life to another life.

One Real Person Example

My frend Tom works in a memoral park in TX (USA). One day he saw a teen try to take coins for a DIY coin craft. Tom said FYI these coins are from a famly in WWII histroy. The teen stoped ASAP. The teen never forgot. This is human. This is heavy. This is not a joke.

french_gravestone

Evidence

PTO facts from the Dept of Vet Affairs:

  • many coins come from vet orgs

  • famly can see these coins as proof visitors came

  • coins are like short msgs. e.g. a silent “I remember you”

This shows why we must not touch them.

Why We Should Not Touch Them

Touching coins is not respeck. Touching coins breaks a link of memory. The stone is not only stone. It is a place of love. Coins tell silent stories. Let them stay.

So we never pick them up. We never move them. Coins are not free money. They are signs of care. Even if the spelling on the stone is wrong. Even if the coin looks old. We leave it there.

Read More: https://www.justhighstone.com/blog

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