US to issue Louis Braille commem in 2009

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Next year the United States will issue a commemorative silver dollar honoring Louis Braille. It does not occur often that the US Mint makes coins dedicated to non-Americans - maybe in this case it is due to the international character of the Braille system.

The name Braille will also appear in Braille on the coin. This is not the first time that Braille is used on US coinage, but the first US coin that has readable Braille.



This is a pattern made to demonstrate the look and tactile features. (The wide edge will not be part of the coin.)
http://www.usmint.gov/downloads/pressroom/2009LouisBraillePT.jpg

And these are the designs (large images) for the obverse and reverse:
http://www.usmint.gov/downloads/pressroom/2009LouisBrailleObv.jpg
http://www.usmint.gov/downloads/pressroom/2009LouisBrailleRev.jpg

As usual, the coin will not be available at face value. Depending on the version (BU, proof) the price should be around 40 dollars. Part of the revenue will, again as usual, be used for institutions and programs related to the issue. The coins should be available in spring 2009.

Christian

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AFAIK Peru has issued circulation coins with braille, but are there any others?

As for the US, there was a certain amount of disappointment when the latest series of banknotes didn't have braille, all the more so because all notes are the same size, making it impossible for blind people to know what they got in change...

Peter

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From Europe, there is the Italian bimetallic 500 lire coin. That piece was in circulation from 1982 until the introduction of the euro cash. It features the Quirinale and the Fontana dei Dioscuri in Rome, with the face value in letters and digits (below) and in Braille (above).



I'm not sure though whether a blind person could actually read that. The Braille text on the US Alabama quarter is definitely too small ...

Christian

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Louis Braille Coin to be Launched Into Space on May 11

Commemorative Coin Will Fly on Space Shuttle Mission STS-125

BALTIMORE, May 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The 2009 Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar, the first coin ever to feature readable Braille, will fly on NASA space shuttle Atlantis on May 11, 2009. The coin will be launched into space on mission STS-125, which will service NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.

The Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar was released by the United States Mint on March 26, 2009. Sales of the coin will be used to support the National Federation of the Blind "Braille Readers are Leaders" campaign. The campaign is a national initiative created to double the number of blind children learning Braille by 2015.

Dr. Marc Maurer, president of the National Federation of the Blind, said: "The Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar symbolizes the power of knowledge and future opportunities for blind children across America. It is therefore fitting that this historic coin will be part of a mission to uncover the secrets of the universe. Perhaps someday a Braille reader will also be part of such a mission."

"NASA believes strongly in the importance of educational opportunities for everyone," said Joyce Winterton, assistant administrator for education at NASA headquarters in Washington. "That is why we have partnered with the National Federation of the Blind to help create programs that enhance scientific study for blind youth. Launching the first coin to contain tactile, readable Braille into space symbolizes NASA's commitment to the spread of knowledge by every means and to every individual."

Source: PR Newswire