Blind Americans Win Money Battle
November 29th, 2006
Can you tell the difference between a 1 and a 20 in the dark?
In a decision that will certainly be appealed by the Treasury Department, a US District Court judge ruled that the government discriminates against blind and visually-impaired Americans by continuing to print paper money that is indistinguishable to those without sight. Judge James Robertson said that the government is in violation of the Rehabilitation Act, the legislation that prohibits discrimination based on disability in government programs.
Judge Robertson rejected the Treasury Department’s claim that altering paper currency to meet the new standards would be an undue burden on the government, especially since the $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100 are all getting facelifts through 2008. (The dollar bill, of course, will soon be replaced by the dollar coin…any minute now.)
Oddly, of the 180 countries issuing paper currency, only the US prints every bill the same size and color. Imagine trying to navigate the world of commerce never being sure of what’s in your wallet. The American Council for the Blind have proposed various design solutions: punching holes in the bills, embossed printing, and even printing bills in different sizes.
The US Government has 10 days to file an appeal.
The Swiss Franc comes in differing sizes and colors so that it is more easily distinguishable.
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December 7th, 2006 at 9:44 pm
So do Australian notes, which are also made out of polymer so they last longer and are more difficult to counterfeit.
http://www.rba.gov.au/CurrencyNotes/NotesInCirculation/index.html
December 9th, 2006 at 6:11 pm
Yah! Australian notes are super-cool and hold together well after a couple of washes in the laundry.
What I particularly like about a lot of these bills are that they feature people important to the country’s culture rather than just heads of state. The old French francs (before the Euro) displayed the Little Prince and Saint-Exupéry on the 50 note, something many people say they miss seeing.
December 12th, 2006 at 4:28 pm
There might be a very simple solution for the currency for the blind issue. Instead of reinventing new currency of different sizes, or embossing dots on any new currency, which would most likely flatten out over time with money counters and general wear, perhaps punching holes in each new bill in the shape or symbol of what the embossed dots would spell out would work. I would imagine that if a blind person can understand the dots (which I think is an amazing feat) they could probably “read” holes after a while just as well. It wouldn’t cost alot to add a punching process to the new bills and the fed could actually punch and reissue circulating bills once they pass through a fed reserve bank.
Just a thought, but hey maybe a simple solution for what might become a colosal task based on the latest ruling.
Any comments?
December 21st, 2006 at 7:40 am
Michael, If I understand your idea correctly, you advocate punched holes. I imagine this would be something like one hole for a hundred, two holes for a fifty, etc. (more complex patterns would be unnecessary and more difficult to recognize by touch). But then a counterfeiter merely has to fill in holes, which isn’t much of a disincentive. It would be better than nothing, but compare with the epoxy dots scheme described at http://www.OurMoneyToo.org/epoxy.php. This scheme would add dots that anyone, sighted or blind, could use to determine denomination, yet would also be a powerful anticounterfeiting feature at the same time.
December 21st, 2006 at 7:43 am
Oops! This blog includes the period in the URL, so it doesn’t work (and the blog has no Preview function).
Here is the URL without a period: http://www.OurMoneyToo.org/epoxy.php
January 2nd, 2007 at 7:08 pm
Instead of making some holes, it could be also an idea to cut the corners depending on the value.
none for $5
one corner for $10
2 for $20
3 for $50
all the corners for $100
January 5th, 2007 at 7:38 pm
Cutting corners is too small a change, too easy to counterfeit. Also, corners tend to fold over too easily. See the OurMoneyToo.org website (Solutions page) for suggestions that have stood the test of time.