The day before the nation’s independence day (not ours on July 26) the US Mint unveiled a new bicentennial silver dollar celebrating the 200th anniversary of Louis Braille’s birth. The picture at Language Log shows a rather large, copper colored, coin with a four braille characters spelling Brl, short for Braille, and a relief of a young braille reader studying at a table. Detailed drawings of the 2009 coin can be found on the US Mint site, obverse and reverse views.
The coolest thing about the coin, besides that it’s the first official US tactile money, is the book case behind the young scholar. It’s labeled “Independence.”
This isn’t the first recognition of disability by the US Mint. The 2003 Alabama state quarter has Helen Keller (along with tiny braille characters). It’s interesting that this coin was announced at a National Federation of the Blind annual convention. I’m impressed that a disability-centric organization was recognized.