For the first time, United States Mint Director Ed Moy will display in Dallas, Texas, the design for the 2009 Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar, the first United States coin to feature readable Braille. The unveiling ceremony at AT&T Plaza at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on Wednesday morning, July 2, 2008, will open the National Federation of the Blind’s 2008 National Convention. A United States Mint exhibit at the convention from 12 p.m. -2 p.m. CT the same day will allow visitors to examine a coin prototype and read the word “Braille” in Braille code on the prototype’s reverse (tails side).

The commemorative silver dollar, authorized by Congress and issued by the United States Mint, honors the bicentennial of the birth of Louis Braille, the creator of the Braille reading and writing system for the blind and people with vision loss. Surcharges from the sale of this collectible coin are authorized to go to the National Federation of the Blind to fund Braille literacy initiatives.

A Federation “March for Independence” will stop briefly at AT&T Plaza at 8:00 a.m. for the unveiling ceremony and then continue to the convention at the Hilton Anatole Hotel, where the coin prototype will be exhibited in the afternoon.

The 2009 Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar will be available for purchase from the United States Mint in the spring of 2009.

Previously, the Alabama commemorative quarter-dollar, one of the coins in the United States Mint’s popular 50 State Quarters® Program, used Braille in the image honoring Helen Keller, but the Braille was too small to be readable by the blind. Also, the 1995 and 1996 Paralympics Silver Dollar featured Braille, but the code was too small to be readable.

Who:

United States Mint Director Ed Moy
United States Congressman Pete Sessions
Marc Maurer, President, National Federation of the Blind
Dr. Frederic Schroeder, First Vice President, National Federation of the Blind

When:

DesignUnveiling : Wednesday, July 2, 2008, at 8:00 a.m. CT

United States Mint exhibit: Wednesday, July 2, 2008, at 12:00 p.m. - 2 p.m. CT

Where:

Unveiling: AT&T Plaza, American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas

Exhibit: National Federation of the Blind 2008 National Convention
2201 Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, Texas 75207

Contact: Press inquiries: Genevieve Billia 202-354-7904
Customer Service information: (800) USA MINT (872-6468)