Death & Coins on Eyes ?

I watched the movie "Troy" this weekend ,the latest version with Brad Pitt, and what's up with the ancient ritual of putting coins on the dead man's eyes?
Is this fact or fiction?

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

I always heard that in England they put thos eold big pennies on their eyes to keep them shut when the person first passed away.

I wonder if any of us have any eyeball coins in our collections!?!?

I might go home and wash all of my old coins.

 

Being in a cemetery, I wish they still practiced this ritual. Would be great for my collection!!!!

 

Steve, Steve, Steve....shame on you!!

 

I was told, years and years ago, that it wias common practice to place pennies (cents) under the eyelid to hold a small amount of clay in place so the eyes would appear normal in the deceased! I thought that was cool in my younger years as everyone left with the same amount of cash on hand!

 

In the OLD old days (where is SleinaDG to confirm this?) those were some pretty big pennies. Add some clay and those eyes must have been popping out under the eyelids. Must have been some freakish sight!

 

Now JBK the U.S. went to small cents in 1856! So THATS were the first year of issue Flying Eagle Cents went!!! Darn never made the connection until now! Then the Indian cent up to 1909 and every one buried after that got Lincolns until someone (probably a greedy funeral director) invented a slug! Now we are all broke on the way out! Guess that still makes us all equal?

 

Well, as I remember it (and I do remember it) the funeral director's would place coins on the eyelids of the dead to keep them from opening at the wrong time. After death the muscles do funny things, and until these are set in their final position this was one of the methods used. The coins would be removed prior to the funeral and, sorry Terry, you left exactly as you enter this old world. Very often these coins would be kept as a keepsake to remember the person who had passed away.

 

My mom says she can remeber her mom talking about putting silver dollars on the eyes of dead people to keep the eyes closed...I think she helped at the Hospital--

Speedy

 

A couple of years ago I heard that this practice is still in use in some places of Africa!

 

I have hear of this as recent as 40 yrs ago in Kentuck

 

Now they use Super Glue to keep the eyes closed. Ain't technology great??

 

< I should probably make another comment here - the ancient Greeks did not place coins on the eyes of the dead though, they would place a coin called an obol ( sp ? ) under the tongue. The custom of placing coins on the eyes came later - but for the same reason. >

And another comment. In the movie Troy it was complete fiction because the fall of Troy took place centuries before the invention of coins. So there would be no coins to put on the eyes or in the mouths.

 

Thank you. (It took long enough for someone to say that.)

"Now my advice for those who die
Declare the pennies on your eyes
Cos I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman
And you're working for no one but me!"

Taxman, The Beatles

 

LOL

 

I remember watching a western movie where they put Morgan dollars on the dead person's eyes, but I can't think of the movie's name.

 

The Korean war lasted from 1950 - 1554

 

This thread was made in 2005....

 

This thread reminded me of the Boondock Saints movies.