[stylist] Louis Braille Coin Launch Invitation

[Angela fowler]

Does anyone know if that ceremony is going to be broadcast anywhere?  

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of David Andrews
Sent: Thursday, February 26, 2009 5:41 PM
To: david.andrews at nfbnet.org
Subject: [stylist] Louis Braille Coin Launch Invitation

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.