[nfb-talk] The Louis Braille Coin Celebration:

[T. Joseph Carter]

Someone recently asked in Oregon about the terms "proof" and 
"uncirculated".  The US Mint says:

proof:
a specially produced coin made from highly polished planchets and 
dies and often struck more than once to accent the design.  Proof 
coins receive the highest quality strike possible and can be 
distinguished by their sharpness of detail and brilliant, mirror-like 
surface.

uncirculated:
The term "uncirculated" may have three different meanings when 
applied to a coin.
- First, it can refer to the particular manufacturing process by 
which a coin is made.
- Second, it can be used as a grade when referring to a coin's degree 
  of preservation and quality of the strike.
- Or third, "uncirculated" can point to the fact that a coin has not 
  been used in everyday commerce.
At the United States Mint, we use the term uncirculated when 
referring to the special coining process used to make the coin, which 
gives it a satin finish.  Uncirculated coins are manufactured using 
the same process as circulating coins, but with quality enhancements 
such as slightly higher coining force, early strikes from dies, 
special cleaning after stamping, and special packaging.  Uncirculated 
coins may vary to some degree because of blemishes, toning, or slight 
imperfections.

Taken from the glossary found here:

http://www.usmint.gov/about_the_mint/collectors_corner/index.cfm?flash=yes&action=Glossary

Joseph

On Mon, Mar 09, 2009 at 09:14:00AM -0400, Kenneth Chrane wrote:
> Launch Invitation
>
>
>
> The launch of the 2009 Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar will take 
> place on March 26, 2009, at the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan 
> Institute in Baltimore, Maryland.
>
>
>
> If you love Braille, want to learn more about it, or want to join us in 
> our effort to bring awareness to the Braille literacy crisis, we urge you 
> to attend this extraordinary event. It is not often that such a unique  
> opportunity arises, and we hope that you will join us as we celebrate 
> this defining moment in American history.
>
>
>
> Festivities begin at 10:00 a.m. and will last until approximately 1:00 
> p.m. There will be activities for all ages, and the first opportunity to 
> purchase the Louis Braille Coin will be available exclusively to those in 
> attendance.
>
>
>
> While seating is not limited, it is helpful for us to know how many 
> people to expect. Please assist us in providing you with the best 
> possible experience by filling out the event registration form at 
> www.Braille.org. As details of the event are announced, your registration 
> will ensure that you are the first to know.
>
>
>
> Event address:
>
> National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute
>
> 1800 Johnson Street
>
> Baltimore, MD 21230
>
>
>
> For more information please call 410-659-9314 x2230
>
>
>
> U.S. Mint Information
>
>
>
> The 2009 Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar commemorates the 200th  
> anniversary of the birth of Louis Braille, inventor of the Braille 
> system, which is still used by the blind to read and write.
>
>
>
> Louis Braille was born in Coupvray, France, near Paris, on January 4, 
> 1809. At the age of three, he lost the sight in his left eye as the 
> result of an accident in his father's workshop. An infection spread to 
> his right eye and he became completely blind by the age of four. At the 
> age of 10, Braille received a scholarship to attend the Royal Institute 
> for Blind Children in Paris, where he became the youngest student. At the 
> school, most instruction was oral, but Braille read books for the blind, 
> which had large letters embossed on the pages.
>
>
>
> In 1821, a captain in Napoleon's army, Charles Barbier de la Serre, 
> visited Braille's school and introduced a system he had invented called 
> "night writing." This was a method for communicating on the battlefield 
> at night without having to talk or light a match, which could alert the 
> enemy. It consisted of 12 raised dots which could be combined to 
> represent words by sounds rather than letters. Over the next few months, 
> Braille experimented with different configurations until he found a 
> simpler one using just six dots.
>
>
>
> By the age of 15, using a blunt awl (the same type of tool that had 
> injured his left eye 12 years earlier) to punch holes in paper to 
> represent letters, Braille had developed the code that is essentially 
> what we know today as modern Braille. It uses no more than six dots in a 
> "cell" of two columns of up to three dots each to represent letters and 
> contains a system of punctuation and "contractions" to speed reading and 
> writing. It is read by passing the fingers over the raised dots.
>
>
>
> Today, Braille has been adapted to almost every known language and is 
> used everywhere from bus stops and maps to music notation and text books. 
> In his native France, Louis Braille's achievement was recognized in 1952 
> - the 100th anniversary of his death - when his body was moved to Paris 
> and interred in the Pantheon.
>
>
>
> Now, for the first time in history, a United States coin features 
> readable Braille. It is available in both proof and uncirculated 
> versions. The obverse (heads) features a portrait of Louis Braille 
> designed by United States Mint Artistic Infusion Program (AIP) Master 
> Designer Joel Iskowitz and sculpted by United States Mint 
> Sculptor/Engraver Phebe Hemphill. It is also inscribed with LIBERTY, IN 
> GOD WE TRUST, LOUIS BRAILLE, 1809 and 2009.
>
>
>
> The reverse (tails), showing a child reading a book in Braille, was 
> designed by United States Mint AIP Master Designer Susan Gamble and 
> sculpted by United States Mint Sculptor/Engraver Joseph Menna. The word 
> Braille (abbreviated Brl in Braille code) is depicted in the upper field. 
> The word INDEPENDENCE is featured on a bookshelf behind the child, in 
> addition to the inscriptions UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ONE DOLLAR and E 
> PLURIBUS UNUM.
>
>
>
> Surcharges from sales of the 2009 Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver 
> Dollar are authorized to be paid to the National Federation of the Blind 
> to further its programs to promote Braille literacy.
>
>
>
>
>
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