Bon Jovi donation helps save Ben Franklin’s gravestone

PHILADELPHIA — A fundraising campaign to help save Benjamin Franklin’s damaged gravestone is no longer livin’ on a prayer.

Rocker Jon bon Jovi and his wife, Dorothea, on Tuesday donated $5,000 to the Christ Church Preservation Trust to quickly push it past its $10,000 goal.

The marble ledger tablet marking Franklin’s grave at Philadelphia’s Christ Church Burial Ground has developed a significant crack on top of the pitting caused by the ritual of tossing pennies onto Franklin’s grave.

Thousands of coins are thrown onto the marker each year in a tribute to Franklin’s adage, “a penny saved, is a penny earned.”

Franklin, who died in 1790, is one of seven signers of the Declaration of Independence buried across from Independence Mall.

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The trust received grants to cover most of the restoration costs.

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Information from: The Philadelphia Inquirer, http://www.inquirer.com

The Associated Press