Coins for the dead

The practice began in classical antiquity when people believed the dead needed coins to pay a ferryman to cross the river Styx.

In modern times the practice has been observed in the United States and Canada: visitors leave coins on the gravestones of former military personnel.

It was believed that when people died, they needed coins to pay Charon to cross the river Styx.

It was believed that without coins, the dead would not be able to cross, and they would therefore live on the banks of the Styx river for 100 years.

[3] The practice of leaving coins at military personnel grave markers is primarily both American and Canadian tradition.

Depiction of Charon crossing the river Styx with the deceased after they paid the cost of the crossing. Die Gartenlaube (1886)
Mary Ann Nichols grave marker at City of London Cemetery and Crematorium , with a number of British pre-decimal and decimal pennies and an American one cent coin left by visitors