In our consumer society, we’re taught that you can buy lots of things with money. So when you see free money lying around, your first instinct may be to pick it up and run like hell.
If a dime is lying on the pavement, you don’t feel guilty about picking it up and throwing it in your handbag. After all, there’s no way of finding its owner. As the saying goes, he who finds it keeps it.
There’s also another place where you can see coins, but it’s a place where you don’t get your hands dirty. Taking a single penny is the most disrespectful thing you can do in life. At one time or another, most of us will find ourselves in a cemetery to pay our respects to a loved one.
Honouring the dead is a time-honoured tradition that goes back centuries. When it comes to pomp and circumstance, the ancient Egyptians were the most showy, building huge pyramids to house their dead as royalty.
Coins deposited in national cemeteries are collected and donated to a good cause. The funds raised are used to maintain the cemeteries and even to provide care for destitute veterans.
Coins left on a tombstone: What does it mean?