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.

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

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