I would say that it could simply be the going rate.  The Plaque for my stepmother, suitable for a lawn cemetery at a country cemetery 4 years ago cost nearly $900 and it wasn't anything fancy. However I remember that the Cemetery had a set size of plaque that everyone had to use, that may have been due to availability or for astethic reasons I don't know. I think that we may sometimes forget that grave markers cannot be mass produced with a one size fits all.  (or rather they can possibly to a point - you could for example buy a marble cross that is already made but then all the details must then be carved on it to persoanlise it.) So a simple metal plaque must either be cast into an individual mould or possibly the blank plaque is cast and then somehow the required letters are etched into the the metal. Either way it means that one or more workers are involved in the process and this automatically ups the price. Don't forget that in regional areas they may not have anyone local to do the job either - not enough demand. So add shipping costs in as well. Tia ----- Original Message ---- From: juliemhopper <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Saturday, 19 July, 2008 5:06:33 PM Subject: lost gravesites Greetings listers, After reading Chris Warren's message about the loss of early cemetery records, I thought I would ask for some general comments. It must be quite common for someone to know which cemetery a relative is buried in, but not to know the exact gravesite because early grave markers have been lost or destroyed in the actual cemetery. Since many early markers were wooden, this is unfortunately inevitable. Added to that is the loss of early cemetery records from fire or some other cause. So if both the site and the record are lost, it can be almost impossible to know exactly where a person is buried. So I'm wondering - if someone wanted to put up some kind of marker, say a cross or a plaque, stating that it preserves the memory of the named people who are known to be buried here but the exact site is unknown, can this be done? Surely in small cemeteries or old cemeteries it should not be too difficult. I can't believe that every cemetery trust would quote $600 or more, as Barbara found with Eaglehawk. Or maybe I'm naïve, and that is in fact the going rate for such a thing? Julie H. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message Start at the new Yahoo!7 for a better online experience. www.yahoo7.com.au