Last night I had the opportunity to see several exhibits at the exhibit hall in the National center for the Blind. I tried to examine at least 70% of the exhibits, many of which showcased very interesting products.
One exhibit that stood out was the Louis Braille 2009 Bicentennial Silver Dollar, which was released March 26 in honor of Louis Braille’s 200th birthday. I was present last year during the March for Independence at the convention, where the prototype of the coin was unveiled. However, we did not get the opportunity to touch the coin there.
This exhibit showed the coin several ways– a plaque had both the front and back of the proof and uncirculated versions of the coin mounted on it. Actually, the lady staffing this exhibit told me that the plaque resides in NFB President Maurer’s office. He lent it to the exhibit hall for the afternoon.
The spacing of the letters BRL (which are stamped on the coin) was very interesting. I noticed a small space between the letters b and r; otherwise, the coin looked very well constructed.
There was also a mural behind the coin exhibit. Each time 10000 coins are sold, an additional piece of the mural is added. This, in a sense, creates a jigsaw-puzzle-type painting. As of today, almost 180,000 coins have been sold, and the incomplete drawing shows a rocket ship and a man with his cane. The drawing appears to be very tactile–you can feel the cane and the ship.
For me, the coin exhibit stands out over all the other exhibits. I think it was great finally to find out how the coin feels and through that appreciate the work Louis Braille did for the blind community and beyond.