On February 28th, 2006, the House approved a bill for the development of a commemorative Braille silver dollar. On July 2, 2008, the design for the forthcoming coin was revealed at the National Federation for the Blind's annual convention in Dallas.
The new design depicts Louis Braille with the word liberty above. On the flip side, there is a picture of a young boy reading a Braille book. The word independence appears on the book shelf behind him and the Braille word for Braille is inscribed above him.
Of course, this is not the first U.S. coin to depict Braille. Alabama's state quarter, issued in 2003, celebrates the life of Helen Keller and spells out her name in Braille. But this new commemorative coin is the first to carry readable Braille.
The new Braille coin was released on March 26th 2009 in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of Louis Braille's birth. The U.S. Mint will produce 400,000 coins and will add a $10 surcharge to each coin. The funds raised from sale of the coins will benefit the National Federation for the Blind (NFB) and promote Braille literacy.
As you may know, there is a Braille literacy crisis in this country. Ninety percent of blind people today are Braille illiterate. Further, Braille illiteracy is the leading contributor to a shocking seventy percent unemployment rate among 1.3 million blind Americans.
Every Braille coin sold will support Braille education nationwide and ensure that every blind American enjoys the same opportunities for success as sighted individuals.
To order your very own Braille coin, visit the United States Mint Online Catalog.
To learn more about what NFB is doing to fight Braille illiteracy, read their report The Braille Literacy Crisis in America: Facing the Truth, Reversing the Trend, Empowering the Blind. To learn more about Louis Braille, read the Louis Braille Biography.