Belgium 2009 200th anniversary of Louis Braille’s birth
200th anniversary of Louis Braille’s birth
Louis Braille (4 January 1809 - 6 January 1852) was
a French educator and inventor of a reading
and writing system for use by people who are visually
impaired. His system remains virtually unchanged to this day, and is
known worldwide simply as braille.
Braille was blinded at the age of three in one eye as a result of an
accident with a stitching awl in his father's harness making
shop. Consequently, an infection set in and spread to both eyes, resulting in
total blindness.
The coin features a portrait of Louis Braille with his
initials, L and B, in the alphabet that he designed. His name appears above the
portrait and, below it, the code of the issuing country, ‘BE’ and the dates
‘1809’ and ‘2009’. To the left and right respectively are the mint mark and the
signature mark of the Master of the Mint. The coin’s outer ring shows the 12
stars of the European Union.
Weight - 8.5 g.
Quality - UNC (Uncirculated)
Diameter - 25.75 mm.
Composition - Bimetallic - nickel brass clad
nickel center in copper-nickel ring
Circulation - 5'000'000 pcs.
Country of origin - Belgium
Year of release - 2009
