Louis Braille Commemorative Coin Designs

On July 2, 2008, US Mint Director Edmund Moy officially unveiled the designs for the upcoming 2009 Louis Braille Commemorative Coin. A prototype of the new coin was on display for attendees to examine.

The ceremony took place at AT&T Plaza at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX to open the 2008 National Convention of the National Federal of the Blind. At the ceremony, Edmund Moy said:

The United States Mint is proud to present the 2009 Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar coin design. It will be the first coin ever minted in the history of our country to contain readable Braille characters.

I am looking forward to presenting the design for this unprecedented coin, and I am pleased that the United States Mint is playing a role in the cause of bringing literacy to all blind and visually impaired Americans.

The obverse design features a portrait of Louis Braille facing the viewer. Inscriptions read “Liberty,” “In God We Trust,” “Louis Braille,” and the bicentennial years 1809 and 2009.

The reverse design features a young child reading Braille from a book. Incscritions include “United States of America,” “E Pluribus Unum,” and “One Dollar.” Also prominently featured on the reverse is the word “Braille” written in Braille Code for the letters “BRL.” This is the first time that a US coin has included readable Braille characters. As a side note, the Alabama State Quarter included Braille, but it was too small to be considered readable.