Christ Church Burial Ground: The Graves of Giants

Why is it significant?

Peer through the iron fence opening at the corner of Fifth and Arch Streets onto the weathered flat marble ledger stone of Benjamin Franklin and his wife Deborah. Notice how the stone is covered with glistening copper pennies tossed by visitors over the railings.

Key Facts

Open the walk

Peer through the iron fence opening at the corner of Fifth and Arch Streets onto the weathered flat marble ledger stone of Benjamin Franklin and his wife Deborah. Notice how the stone is covered with glistening copper pennies tossed by visitors over the railings.

Tossing a penny onto Franklin's grave pays homage to his famous maxim published in Poor Richard's Almanack: A penny saved is two pence clear, later popularised as a penny saved is a penny earned. Tens of thousands of pennies are collected each year from this very slab and donated to historic preservation.

This peaceful acre of sacred ground, established by Christ Church in seventeen nineteen, contains the mortal remains of over four thousand souls. Resting alongside Franklin are four other heroic signers of the Declaration of Independence: Benjamin Rush, Francis Hopkinson, Joseph Hewes, and George Ross.

Turn east along Arch Street toward the historic home of Betsy Ross.