[Nfbf-l] U S announcement of Louis Braille Coin

[Sherrill O'Brien]

Hello all,

I went out to the Mint's website, and found the following announcement about
the soon to be released Louis Braille Commemorative coin.  The release date,
though not mentioned in this announcement, will be March 26.  We won't know
the cost of the coin until its release date.  It must be purchased through
the mint, either online or by mail.  The Mint has an online catalog where
you will be able to order and purchase the coin.  I have attached the
announcement in case you want to make copies of it, and it is also pasted
below.  I will be attending a meeting of state Braille coordinators during
the Washington Seminar, so I will have more information and strategies to
bring to you by mid February.

Sherrill

Commemorative Coin Programs - 2009 Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar

            2009 Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar 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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            Nov 14, 2008
            [stwb2]



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