The starting point of this work is the observation that the presence of one or more coins within burials deserves to be enlightened by precise archaeological observations on the deposits and the constitution of the burials rather than by mythological allusions. This gesture is part of the complex and varied ritual sequences that aim to constitute the tomb. The meaning of the gesture must therefore be investigated using close archaeological analysis and not literary or poetic references. To understand gestures which are the very foundation of a ritualistic religion, we must necessarily abandon any preconceived ideas about the concept of immortality of the soul or the requirement for an "obolus". The aim of such a subject is therefore to revisit the question of monetary discoveries within burials and the place of this rite in the roman funeral proceedings. The rite being the core of roman religious practice, the precise study of the gestures accomplished near the burial seems to be the only way to understand the intrinsic meaning of these deposits. So our approach is to establish a dialectical relationship between precisely documented facts and their integration into a theoretical framework. This work, based on an innovative approach, should allow the setting up of a reading grid that finally takes account of the anthropology of death (the funeral practices of societies), ie requiring both methodology and specific protocols, the early trials of which already offer encouraging perspectives. ; Le point de départ de ce travail est le constat que la présence d'une ou plusieurs monnaies au sein de sépultures mérite plutôt d’être éclairé par des observations archéologiques précises sur les dépôts et la constitution des sépultures, que par des allusions mythologiques. Ce geste s’insère en effet dans les séquences rituelles complexes et variées qui visent à constituer la tombe. Le sens du geste doit donc être recherché par une analyse archéologique fine et non pas dans des références littéraires ou poétiques. Pour ...