[nfb-talk] The Louis Braille Coin Celebration:

Fri Mar 13 04:10:58 UTC 2009

Is the Louis Braille coingoing to have limited circulation?
Eddie
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "T. Joseph Carter" <carter.tjoseph at gmail.com>
To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: <nfb-or at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, March 09, 2009 5:44 PM
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] The Louis Braille Coin Celebration:


> 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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