Obverse. Photo © NumisCorner.com
  • 2 Euro 2009, KM# 310, Italy, 200th Anniversary of Birth of Louis Braille
  • 2 Euro 2009, KM# 310, Italy, 200th Anniversary of Birth of Louis Braille
Description

Louis Braille (1809–1852) was a French educator and inventor of a system of reading and writing for use by the blind or visually impaired. His system remains known worldwide simply as braille.

Blinded in both eyes as a result of an early childhood accident, Braille mastered his disability while still a boy. He excelled in his education and received a scholarship to France's Royal Institute for Blind Youth. While still a student there, he began developing a system of tactile code that could allow blind people to read and write quickly and efficiently. Inspired by the military cryptography of Charles Barbier, Braille constructed a new method built specifically for the needs of the blind. He presented his work to his peers for the first time in 1824.

Obverse

Depicts a hand reading an open book by touch. Above the index finger, which is pointing at the vertical inscription LOUIS BRAILLE 1809–2009, are two birds symbolising the freedom of knowledge. The issuing country reference RI is at the top right, while the mint mark R is at the bottom right. Braille's name is written under the book in the Braille alphabet that he invented. At the very bottom are the initials MCC of the artist Maria Carmela Colanéri. The twelve stars of the European Union surround the design on the outer ring.

LOUIS BRAILLE 1809-2009
RI
R
M.C.C.

Reverse

A geographical map of Western Europe spans the outer ring and inner core on the right side of the coin. The inscription 2 EURO is superimposed over the map of Europe, with the numeral “2” located in an open field representing the eastern Atlantic Ocean.

12 stars are located on the right side of the outer ring, with six stars atop the map of Europe and six stars below it; six vertical stripes cut across the inner core of the coin, visually connecting the upper and lower star segments.

Luc Luycx, a designer at the Royal Belgian Mint, designed the Euro’s common reverse; his initials, LL, are seen on the right side of the design, just under the “O” in “EURO.”

2 EURO
LL

Edge

The sequence "2 ★" repeated six times alternately upright and inverted

2 ★ 2 ★ 2 ★ 2 ★ 2 ★ 2 ★

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Characteristics
Type Commemorative Issue (Circulating)
Material Bi-Metallic
Ring Cupronickel
Center Nickel Brass
Weight 8.5 g
Diameter 25.75 mm
Thickness 2.2 mm
Shape round
Alignment Medal
Mint
Italian State Mint and Polygraphic Institute (IPZS)

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