Italy

2009

Commemorative coin

200th anniversary of the birth of Louis Braille (1809—1852)

Official Journal of the European Union

The inner part of the coin depicts a hand reading an open book by touch. Above the index finger, which is pointing at the vertical inscription ‘LOUIS BRAILLE 1809-2009’, are two birds symbolising freedom of knowledge. The issuing country reference, ‘RI’, is at the top right, while the mint mark ‘R’ is at the bottom right. Braille’s name is written under the book in the alphabet that he invented. At the very bottom are the initials ‘MCC’ of the artist Maria Carmela Colanéri. The coin’s outer ring depicts the 12 stars of the European flag.

Additional information

This coin is dedicated to the French inventor of Braille, named after him, Louis Braille (1809-1852). Blind after an accident at the age of five, he learned at the age of eleven about the "night writing" developed by Charles Barbier (1767-1841), which was intended to give written orders to soldiers at the front who could read them without lighting a lantern, as they would otherwise have exposed themselves to enemy fire. In 1824, at the age of fifteen, he developed a code for the French alphabet to improve night writing. After a second revision, in 1837 he published the first binary braille developed in modern times. It depicts a hand scanning an open book and above it two stylised seagulls as a symbol of freedom of knowledge.

Edge lettering

Designer