House Approves Coin to Celebrate Louis Braille

The Louis Braille Bicentennial

Braille Literacy Commemorative Coin Act directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $1 coins emblematic of the life and legacy of Louis Braille, the inventor of the most widely used reading and writing method for the blind. Under the House bill passed in March, the U.S. Mint will issue 400,000 silver dollars in 2009 commemorating the bicentennial of Louis Braille’s birth. Funds raised from a $10 surcharge will go to the National Federation of the Blind to promote braille literacy. The front of the coin will depict Braille, and the reverse will include the word “Braille” written in braille code.

The bill was referred in March to the Senate Banking committee for further review.

Printed with permission from DOTS for Braille Literacy, Summer 2006

Editor’s Note: President Bush signed the bill into law July 27, 2006.

Original charcoal portrait of Louis Braille by Nancy Lucas Williams

Louis Braille 1809–1852

Original charcoal portrait by
Nancy Lucas Williams © 1998

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