Commemorative Coin Honoring Louis Braille

By: Michael Zielinski

Next year will mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Louis Braille. He is well known for his invention of the Braille System. This system is used worldwide by the blind and visually impaired to read and write. To celebrate this important anniversary, the United States Mint will be issuing a special commemorative coins in his honor.

The Braille system uses patterns of one to six raised dots to correspond to letters of the alphabet. The letters can be recognized by fingertip allowing the blind and visually impaired to read words, music, and mathematical symbols. This system has been adapted to nearly all known languages and is used worldwide.

The new commemorative coins are meant to be emblematic of the life and legacy of Louis Braille with specific focus on his contribution of his system of reading and writing. The coin program was authorized under H.R. 2872, the Louis Braille Bicentennial Literacy Commemorative Coin Act. The bill was first introduced on June 13, 2005. The bill was successfully passed by both the United States House of Representatives and Senate. The bill was finally signed into law on July 27, 2006.

Based on the legislation, each coin will have a diameter of 1.5 inches and a weight of 26.73 grams. Coins will be minted with a composition of 90% silver and 10% copper. Face value will be one dollar, and the coins will be considered legal tender numismatic items. A surcharge from the sale of each coin will be distributed to the National Federation of the Blind. The funds will be used to promote Braille literacy.

The designs for the new coin were first unveiled on July 2, 2008 by United States Mint Director Edmund Moy. The unveiling took place as part of a ceremony held at AT&T Plaza at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The ceremony was held to begin the National Federation of the Blind's 2008 National Convention. A prototype of the coin was available for attendees to examine.

The obverse of the coin features a portrait of Louis Braille and the inscriptions, "Louis Braille," "Liberty," "In God We Trust," and the dates 1809 and 2009. The reverse of the coin features a young child reading using the Braille system. Behind the child is a bookcase filled with books. The top of the bookcase has the caption "Independence." Inscriptions on the reverse of the coin include, "United States of America," "E Pluribus Unum," and "One Dollar."

The reverse design also includes the Braille characters "BRL." This is the short form of the word Braille. The series of characters is large enough so that it can be read with a fingertip. Notably, this is the first time in history that a United States coin has included readable Braille characters. Previously, such characters were used on the 2003 Alabama State Quarter, however the characters were too small to be considered readable.

The commemorative coins are expected to be available for sale to the public after January 1, 2009. The United States Mint is authorized to produce up to 400,000 coins, which will remain available for sale throughout the year.

Article Source: http://www.myhotarticles.com

Michael Zielinski is an internet entrepreneur and coin collector. Learn more about the upcoming Louis Braille Coin or get the latest news on coin collecting.

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