NFB - Braille_coin_description  
Louis Braille Bicentennial Coin Design
 

Coin Description
Director of the United States Mint, Ed Moy, describes the coin as follows:
The coin obverse, or heads side of the coin, features a handsome image of Louis 
Braille from the neck up, facing forward.  This image captures him as the 
energetic, confident and successful young man he was, and the image fills the 
center of the coin.  He is wearing a jacket and collar in the style of the early 
1800s and his hair is fashionably wavy.  
The coin also bears the inscription “Liberty” along the curve of the coin above 
his head and the words “Louis Braille” underneath his portrait.  “In God We 
Trust” is inscribed to the right of Braille’s image at cheek level.  The date 
“1809” appears on the left and “2009” appears on the right, both at collar 
height.  
On the coin reverse, the most prominent image is a boy who looks to be about 8 
or 9 sitting at a table reading a book in Braille.  He is wearing a T-shirt and 
has the top of a cane resting on his left arm.  The word “Braille” in Braille 
code—abbreviated B-R-L as it is in Braille code—is produced on the upper half of 
the coin.   The spacing of the letters ensures that the text is no different 
from printed or written Braille to the touch.  
On the left in the background, the word “Independence” is written along the top 
of a bookshelf full of books.  The inscription “United States of America” is at 
the top of the curve of the coin, “One Dollar” is at the bottom and “E Pluribus 
Unum” is to the right of the seated child reading Braille.©2008 All Rights 
Reserved - Copyright 2008 NFB