Pennies on gravestones
Bert
single penny had been placed on many of the markers. Considering who is on
the obverse of the coin, it is easy to take a pretty good guess as to why
this is done. But I am curious as to if anyone has more details about this
tradition.
BTW, at the Longstreet monument, one of the horse hooves that is turned
upward was also a repository for several pennies. Most of them were heads
down. Again, pretty easy to take a good guess as to why, but curious about
the history of this.
--
***********************************************
You can visit Professor Bert Atsma's Website at:
http://faculty.ucc.edu/biology-atsma/
dro...@gmail.com
Have a look at Dred Scott's gravestone:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/gtc/discuss/106886
Lot of folks are doing this but not saying why.
Horatio
> On Tue, 31 Jul 2007 13:10:33 GMT, "Bert" <profb...@mad.scientist.com>
> wrote:
>
> >When visiting the New Jersey section in the Gettysburg cemetery, I noticed a
> >single penny had been placed on many of the markers. Considering who is on
> >the obverse of the coin, it is easy to take a pretty good guess as to why
> >this is done. But I am curious as to if anyone has more details about this
> >tradition.
>
> >BTW, at the Longstreet monument, one of the horse hooves that is turned
> >upward was also a repository for several pennies. Most of them were heads
> >down. Again, pretty easy to take a good guess as to why, but curious about
> >the history of this.
>
> dying man a coin for the "ferryman" on the STYX (not the pop group, but a river).
***
Pagan Roman customs are still with us.
Mary is none other than Isis.
You Southern-Fried Christians are deluded mythologists,
segregationists and slavers.
Rambler III
"F. C. James" <look...@yonder.net> wrote in message
news:oeu0b39ctvgi5pq87...@4ax.com...
> On Tue, 31 Jul 2007 14:42:26 -0700, dro...@gmail.com wrote:
>
>>On Jul 31, 9:10 am, "Bert" <profb...@mad.scientist.com> wrote:
>>> When visiting the New Jersey section in the Gettysburg cemetery, I
>>> noticed a
>>> single penny had been placed on many of the markers. Considering
>>> who is on
>>> the obverse of the coin, it is easy to take a pretty good guess as
>>> to why
>>> this is done. But I am curious as to if anyone has more details
>>> about this
>>> tradition.
>
>
>>http://www.flickr.com/groups/gtc/discuss/106886
>>
>>Lot of folks are doing this but not saying why.
>
Apparently this has been going on since 2004.
Date: Wed, 9 Jun 2004 12:02:21 -0400
Reply-To: "Timothy A. Knotts" <[log in to unmask]>
Sender: Scouts-L Youth Group List <[log in to unmask]>
From: "Timothy A. Knotts" <[log in to unmask]>
Organization: The Hogan-Knotts Financial Group
Subject: Re: Gettysburg (Used to be OFF TOPIC Civil War Question
Maybe a
neat trivia topic!)
Content-Type: text/plain; Charest="iso-8859-1"
My Troop went to Gettysburg last November. We stayed at the Camp
Conewago
"Rothrocks", run by the York-Adams Council. They also publish a
walking
guide, and provide cloth patch/awards for completing certain
requirements at
the National Historic Battlefield. The guys had a great time, took a
"Ghost" walking tour on Saturday night, and maybe learned something
too!
As for pennies on gravestones in the National Cemetery I did not
notice. I
guess I have to go back!!!
It is a Jewish tradition, at least, to place a stone on a gravesite
when
visiting the burial sites of relatives. However, when I "googled" on
"pennies on gravestones" I came up with the following:
"i remember hearing something when i was a child about putting money
on
gravestones. they said that if you do this the deceased will reach out
and
grab the money...i think it is some sort of offering, or money for
passage
to the gates of judgement.....the irish would bury thier loved ones
with
coins over their eyes to pay the 'bargeman' who took them to heaven. i
don't
know if this helps, but it sounds as if someone was offering a
gesture."
"I'm not sure about the pennies but ther is a tradition to place a
small
pebble on the headstone whenever you visit. It is a tribute to the
person &
a visual reminder to the family that others have not forgotten your
sister.
It may just be a variation on the pennies tradition... it is a 'good
thing.'
I hope it brings you peace knowing that someone is keeps your sister
close
to their heart too."
"Did you know that because of Ben Franklin's famous saying "A penny
saved is
a penny earned", people come to his grave and drop pennies there. I
think
the custom has come from this, apparently putting pennies on his grave
is a
sign of good luck. Best explanation I could come up with."
"Two days after he died, the mother of one of my good friends told me
that
when people die, they leave pennies."
"I know that when William died, all of us in the family left American
flags,
red, white, and blue flowers, etc on his casket both at the funeral at
home
and at the funeral in Arlington National. But at Arlington, when the
military guys started walking past the casket to pay their final
respects,
they all started tossing nickels into the grave or setting them on top
of
the casket. I had learned about this before Arlington, but had to
inform my
family of it's significance. The military pilots have a saying, "A
nickel on
the ground...a pilot is down."
Yours in Scouting,
Timothy A. Knotts
ASM Troop 145
West Long Branch, NJ
Other URLs (506) can be found with the Google search phrase:
"Civil War" +pennies +gravestones
Whoever
> On Tue, 31 Jul 2007 13:10:33 GMT, "Bert" <prof...@mad.scientist.com>
> wrote:
>
>>When visiting the New Jersey section in the Gettysburg cemetery, I noticed
>>a
>>single penny had been placed on many of the markers. Considering who is on
>>the obverse of the coin, it is easy to take a pretty good guess as to why
>>this is done. But I am curious as to if anyone has more details about this
>>tradition.
>>
>>BTW, at the Longstreet monument, one of the horse hooves that is turned
>>upward was also a repository for several pennies. Most of them were heads
>>down. Again, pretty easy to take a good guess as to why, but curious about
>>the history of this.
>
It's an old custom of showing that someone has visited a particular grave.
Visitors often leave small stones too.
Barry
Mentally ill anon troll, Delongprebum, currently masquerading as "Horatio"
<urbana...@yahoo.com> quacked in message
news:1185961623....@q3g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
> > Pagan Roman customs are still with us.
>
> Mary is none other than Isis.
>
> You Southern-Fried Christians are deluded mythologists,
> segregationists and slavers.
Proving that his demons are still with him after returning from his
oh-so-short absence.
Once a troll, always a troll.
>
F.C. James
It appears to be an old Jewish custom. What that got to do with the
Civil War ?
If everybody that visits Civil War graves leave money, it won't be
long before the criminal class catches on -- and then visiting
graveyards will become a dangerous pastime.
Bert
news:LQ2si.13852$ax1....@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
Thanks. I had plugged in the same search criteria (and derivations like "+
grave marker" or "penny") and came across many of the same things others
have replied with. References to the stone or coin being a tradition of the
Romans, Jews, Irish, etc. are out there. I was hoping to see some specific
connection with the ACW - especially since I also saw the pennies far from
the cemetery at the Longstreet monument.
Horatio
> Mentally ill anon troll, Delongprebum, currently masquerading as "Horatio"
>
> > > Pagan Roman customs are still with us.
>
> > Mary is none other than Isis.
>
> > You Southern-Fried Christians are deluded mythologists,
> > segregationists and slavers.
>
> Proving that his demons are still with him after returning from his
> oh-so-short absence.
> Once a troll, always a troll.
>
>
>
>
> - Show quoted text -
***
You've never been outside the US except as a serviceman. You can't
deal with anyone or anything that isn't White and Southern. You are
truly a feudal man, stuck in an absurd and discredited past.
There's a stinky dead skunk in the middle of your living room but you
refuse to admit it. It's a skunk called white supremacy and Jim Crow.
You pretend it ain't there but I'm here to remind you that it is. THAT
is your only heritage - kidnapping, enslavement, brutality, torture
and murder.
You're one of the last of your 'breed'.
Hilary and Obama will wipe you out!
Rambler III
"Bert" <prof...@mad.scientist.com> wrote in message
news:7u5si.1631$vW.785@trnddc08...
[snip]
I was hoping to see some specific
> connection with the ACW - especially since I also saw the pennies
> far from the cemetery at the Longstreet monument.
>
The penny coin in circulation from 1859 to 1909 was the Indian cent.
The Lincoln cent was adopted on 1909.
Was the custom practiced before 1909? Was the custom practiced before
1859?
Bert
>
> "Bert" <prof...@mad.scientist.com> wrote in message
> news:7u5si.1631$vW.785@trnddc08...
>
> [snip]
>
> I was hoping to see some specific
>> connection with the ACW - especially since I also saw the pennies far
>> from the cemetery at the Longstreet monument.
>>
>
> The penny coin in circulation from 1859 to 1909 was the Indian cent. The
> Lincoln cent was adopted on 1909.
Having been somewhat interested in coin collecting as a kid, I knew that. I
am wondering if the tradition did indeed start after 1909. Considering how
long it took to overcome Southern resistance to Lincoln's glorification
(look at how long it took for DC to construct a Lincoln Memorial), I
wondered if the heads up/heads down Lincoln cent was actually commentary by
gravesite visitors as well as adoption of an old custom.
> Was the custom practiced before 1909? Was the custom practiced before
> 1859?
Both of those are good follow-up questions, I think. :-)
Whoever
"F.C. James" <look...@yonder.net> wrote in message
news:3mk1b3l99i88ie1sc...@4ax.com...
It happens in graveyards everywhere, not just Civil War. As for the
criminals making cemeteries dangerous? Perhaps, but only to the master
thieves who're trying to clean up at, oh, maybe $2 for a days work. :)
Bruce Martin
"Bert" <prof...@mad.scientist.com> wrote in message news:dxGri.8787$Kk4.6685@trndny09...
> When visiting the New Jersey section in the Gettysburg cemetery, I noticed a single penny had been
> placed on many of the markers. Considering who is on the obverse of the coin, it is easy to take a
> pretty good guess as to why this is done. But I am curious as to if anyone has more details about
> this tradition.
>
> BTW, at the Longstreet monument, one of the horse hooves that is turned upward was also a
> repository for several pennies. Most of them were heads down. Again, pretty easy to take a good
> guess as to why, but curious about the history of this.
At the Lincoln Tomb, in Springfield, IL, there is a small, non-descript stone marker on the hillside
directly above the crypt that Lincoln's body was held in untill the final resting area was
constructed. It's customary to for visitors to place a penny on it.
Lincon's Tomb itself is one of the most magnificent memorials you'll ever see.
NotMe
Most (including homeless) won't stoop to pick up dime much less a penny.
BTW have you seen anyone with a rake in hand plundering fountains?
We have a fountain in front of our place that collects a lot of coins. I
had a hard time getting anyone's interest in the collection to the point
where the only one that will do anything is the local pool maintenance kid
who collects the coins once a month I(on average) with his water vac for his
church's mission work. $30 to $40 per month on average.
I expect the action on one of respect just as some reenactor groups turn out
for grave site rededications. Until recently that was one of the last
things I could still do physically (I have uniforms for both sides.) Again
as an act of respect.
NotMe
"Bert"
| >
| > [snip]
| >
| > I was hoping to see some specific
| >> connection with the ACW - especially since I also saw the pennies far
| >> from the cemetery at the Longstreet monument.
| >>
| >
| > The penny coin in circulation from 1859 to 1909 was the Indian cent. The
| > Lincoln cent was adopted on 1909.
|
| Having been somewhat interested in coin collecting as a kid, I knew that.
I
| am wondering if the tradition did indeed start after 1909. Considering how
| long it took to overcome Southern resistance to Lincoln's glorification
| (look at how long it took for DC to construct a Lincoln Memorial), I
| wondered if the heads up/heads down Lincoln cent was actually commentary
by
| gravesite visitors as well as adoption of an old custom.
|
|
| > Was the custom practiced before 1909? Was the custom practiced before
| > 1859?
|
| Both of those are good follow-up questions, I think. :-)
In some places the practice of placing coins on the eyes of the dead was to
address the possibility that the dead were not really dead.
It was part of the culture of wakes. Because the presumed dead would
occasionally wake up a flicker of the eye lid would dislodge the coin.
I recall many a slur to the effect that 'he was such a low life he would
steal the coins from a dead man's eyes'.
Rambler III
"NotMe" <m...@privacy.net> wrote in message
news:o_msi.82$FI...@newsfe12.lga...
Wouldn't the use of penny coin on a dead man's eyes be a sign of
disrespect? To prevent being seemed too cheap, I'd use at least a
quarter coin. (In western movies, don't they always use dollars?)
Ray O\'Hara
movies are not real.
NotMe
That and way back when some folk earned $0.10 to $0.15 per day.
Rambler III
"Ray O\'Hara" <mary.p...@rcn.com> wrote in message
news:baOdnQsFeIussC_b...@rcn.net...
[snip]
> movies are not real.
>
>
Most of the time, neither are you.
Rambler III
That Colonial Times, not Civil War.
$20 a month and found was a common "free" farm labor wage in the 1850s
in the Midwest..
rob....@gmail.com
> Mentally ill anon troll, Delongprebum, currently masquerading as "Horatio"
>
> > > Pagan Roman customs are still with us.
>
> > Mary is none other than Isis.
>
> > You Southern-Fried Christians are deluded mythologists,
> > segregationists and slavers.
>
> Proving that his demons are still with him after returning from his
> oh-so-short absence.
> Once a troll, always a troll.
>
hey hackeny... one phone call and you'd have a critical mass bike ride
stopping by your fucking auto shop to protest your klansman ass.
Barry
BIKES?? I just imagine that if your liberal loser friends compadres were
confronted by one real klansman, they would be reduced to a critical mass of
pissing in their boots jelly.
Not a member of KKK, BTW, liar.
BH
<rob....@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1186121279....@b79g2000hse.googlegroups.com...
Ray O\'Hara
"Barry" <bhac...@houston.rr.com> wrote in message
news:46b7e94b$0$3111$4c36...@roadrunner.com...
> Oh, I am terrified. What do your biker friends call themselves, KIKES ON
> BIKES?? I just imagine that if your liberal loser friends compadres were
> confronted by one real klansman, they would be reduced to a critical mass
of
> pissing in their boots jelly.
> Not a member of KKK, BTW, liar.
but you are a nazi party member. you may think others are fooled by calling
it the "nationalist" party. but no one is
Barry
I am neither nazi or KKK, but you are a liar, proven yet again.
Liberals are the fascists of this generation.
BH
"Rabid Ray O\'Hara" <mary.p...@rcn.com> squealed in message
news:Z56dncR8JJjtYCrb...@rcn.net...
Horatio
> YOU are the fool, retardo.
> I am neither nazi or KKK, but you are a liar, proven yet again.
>
> Liberals are the fascists of this generation.
>
> BH
***
No. Southern Segregationists are the Afrikaners and Nazis of America.
You share the same ideology.
David Duke has a bogus Ph.D.
***
I'm a "White Man" - a Norwegian.
That makes me more "White" than Barry.
BARRY: Your sub-caste of "Southern Whites" is an embarrasment to all
"true Whites".
Therefore: "Southern Whites" deserve to serve all superior Caucasians,
including Iranians, Armenians and Basques.
"Southern Whites" are also inferior to Jews, Mexicans, immigrants and
homosexuals.
Ray O\'Hara
> YOU are the fool, retardo.
> I am neither nazi or KKK, but you are a liar, proven yet again.
>
> Liberals are the fascists of this generation.
>
> BH
>
>
no naziboy. the fascists are still the fascists. and you are a nazi.
Barry
2 irrelevant
peas in the same left wing fascist pod! Hitler was a big government liberal
who had a racial preference program, like you. The only difference is which
race you favor & which race you seek to cleanse. You hate me because I am a
Jeffersonain constitutionalist who advocates limited government, the
antithesis of a liberal fascist like you, who demands that government
implement your racist agenda at the expense of others..
The only difference between you two trolls and a pair of barking dogs is
that the dogs only kick their own dicks! lol
"Ray O\'Hara" <mary.p...@rcn.com> wrote in message
news:jbadnRS4T5r5GyXb...@rcn.net...
Ray O\'Hara
do you actually read what you post nazieboy. you are too funny.
Flying Fuck
IAWTP
did you know that barry hackney is a secretary for a skinhead group? i bet
they have him get dolled up in a dress and steno pad.
--
.-------.
.'.-'''''-.'._
//` `\\\
;; ;;'.__.===============,
|| . <- || __ )
;: your ;;.' '==============='
\\ penus ///
':...___...:'~
`'-----'`
"The fact that you're being increasing annoying..." - QuackfArt
Barry
"Ray O\'Hara" <mary.p...@rcn.com> wrote in message
news:74SdnTOBE-fLKCXb...@rcn.net...
Ray O\'Hara
> And YOU are a dick-licking dog, commie-fag.
ahh i can feel the love.
that's a quote from jesus isn't it?
Barry
cast right into the pit you belong in where you will be gnashing your teeth
and wailiing.
"Ray O\'Hara" <mary.p...@rcn.com> wrote in message
news:arudnb5HxuXcGSfb...@rcn.net...
Ray O\'Hara
> You will feel Jesus' love once you leave this world, Retardo; as you are
> cast right into the pit you belong in where you will be gnashing your
teeth
> and wailiing.
>
speaking for jesus are you now.
do you think it a good idea to usurp his preogatives?
fortunately for you it is all just myth so your blaspemy will go unpunished
Barry
Heaven with scum like yourself there.
The nonsensical troll, "Lying Ray O\'Hara" <mary.p...@rcn.com> babbled
in message news:iOOdnSyWstN-ZSbb...@rcn.net...
>
>> >
>
> speaking for jesus are you now.
He spoke for Himself, stupid.
>
> do you think it a good idea to usurp his preogatives?
He stated His perogatives, which were recorded by John. You are the usurper,
as is your father, the devil.
>
> fortunately for you it is all just myth so your blaspemy will go
unpunished.
My sins will be unpunished, but you have rejected your salvation, so you are
condemned already for your blasphemy. You really are a sad sack!
>
>