You’ve probably seen them before, maybe didn’t think twice about it—it was a penny or two on a gravestone, in the sunshine. Maybe it was a dime. A quarter. You figured someone visited it irresponsibly, or on a whim. But there’s a whole layered tradition behind it, especially if you find yourself walking through a military cemetery. These aren’t just coins dropped off by accident, every coin left was specifically intended. And every coin left of any value has its own specific meaning.

The act of leaving coins is an entirely ancient one. Where the meaning behind it comes from varies from person to person. Some say ancient. Some might go back to Vietnam war when political discourse was heated and some veterans wanted to honor their fallen friends without drawing attention to drawing up a note or drawing ire from the neighborhood. So they left a coin. Unbeknownst to the forester. No flowers. Either way: I was there. I remembered you.

The act morphed into something, whether it be the penny you left is important. But if you were to learn this, yourself, you would never look at those coins the same way.