This is from the Snopes Urban Legend website: Coins left on military tombstones denote visits from living soldiers. While visiting some cemeteries you may notice that headstones marking certain graves have coins on them, left by previous visitors to the grave. These coins have distinct meanings when left on the headstones of those who gave their life while serving in America's military, and these meanings vary depending on the denomination of coin. http://www.snopes.com/military/coins.asp A side note, I have never heard of this "tradition", but it could be a new use for the dollar coins.
Interesting. The tradition of leaving coins goes very far back.. I know there is an old thread, perhaps a year or two, where someone was collecting coin traditions, stories, for a children's book (I think.) I don't know if this one was mentioned, but other interesting uses were posted. Coins placed over the eyes of the deceased is one I remember..
Pennies used to be placed on the eyes of the deceased before they were buried - it was a tradition that apparently goes deep into the Roman era when they placed coins on the dead to pay the ferryman for the toll across the river Styx. It even was done in the 19th century in America. At least in Russia there is more practicality when visiting graves - pouring of a shot of aqua vita on the person's grave to share "life".
Some of those traditions are actually mentioned in that Snopes article. Such as, "In England and the U.S., pennies were routinely placed on the closed eyes of the dead" ... Christian
In the Hollywood movie Troy, they place coins on the eyes of the dead. Of course, that is Hollywood for you. Coins were not invented until several hundreds of years after that Trojan war. Here is an old coin from Ionia: IONIA, Miletos AR 1/12th Stater ca. Mid 6th Century B.C. 1.00 grams, 9.6 mm to 7.6 mm Obv: Forepart of lion facing right. Rev: Beautiful star ornament within incuse square. Grade: aVF with attractive toning. Nice, tall design completely struck within the oblong flan. Other: Sear 3532. May be late 6th to early 5th Century B.C.
Nice but the Trojan War and the fall of Troy was 12th century BC. Six hundred years before that coin. And while that coin may have paid the boatman's fee, at 1 gram it would not have worked for the practical reason for putting coins on the eyes. For several reasons over time the eyes of a dead person will tend to "open". So a larger heavy coin would be placed on the eyes to hide them and to hold them closed.
