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The United States Mint issued the 2009 Louis Braille Silver Dollar to commemorate the 200th anniversary of his birth. The silver dollar contained the first readable Braille characters to appear on a legal tender United States coin.
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
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Depicts a portrait of Louis Braille. The inscriptions read “Liberty”, “In God We Trust”, “Louis Braille”, and the bicentennial dates “1809” and “2009”. LIBERTY |
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Reverse
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Depicts an image of a child reading a Braille book with a bookcase in the background bearing the word “Independence”. Inscriptions read “United States of America”, “E Pluribus Unum”, and “One Dollar”. The field above the image includes the word “Braille” (abbreviated “BRL”) in Braille characters. Although Braille characters have appeared on previous US coins, this is the first time the characters appear large enough to be readable by touch. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA |
Edge |
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200th Anniversary of Birth of Louis Braille
200th Anniversary of Birth of Louis Braille
200th Anniversary of Birth of Louis Braille