AP: U.S. appeals court rules that paper money discriminates against the blind.

CNN ^ | 5/20/2008 | AP

[Kirkwood]

You’re welcome anyway.

[Kirkwood]

Actually it is probably not wise to use such readers with audio. It is in braille. Do you really want a machine that announces to everyone around you that you have X dollars in change?

[rose]

I'm sorry, I really do appreciate your concern, guess I am bamboozled, got off on my tirade and forgot to acknowledge gratefully your suggestion. Did not mean to be so unthoughtful.
After 18 months of dealing with my grandson(am his legal guardian), I have become harsh sometimes, and am working on it. Thank you a lot.

[Jim Hill]

Seems like it would be a fairly simple process to slightly raise the numbers at each of the four corners where the denomination is indicated without changing bill size, adding braille, etc. With appropriate texturing of the elevated areas it would be difficult to alter or counterfeit. Or texturize the entire surface of the bill . . . vertical lines = $1.00; horizontal lines = $5.00; diagonal lines = $10.00; crosshatch lines = $20.00; etc.

[gost2]

This is so WRONG. North Korea will be bankrupted before they can find someone to sell them presses that can duplicate our notes.

[Psycho_Bunny]

Accommodating everyone leaves no one happy.

[cva66snipe]

I've seen quite a few blind vendors running concession stands. Or rather I used to growing up in the 60’s and 70’s. They knew what was being handed them be it a 1,5,10,20, 50, or 100 dollar bill without even asking. The textures of the bills were different nd that is what they went by. Our nations paper currency pretty much remained the same till about the last decade or so when someone began trying to see just how many times or different ways they can make paper currency as well as the coins. That I think is the real problem. Even a good bank teller could count their till without even looking at the denominations with extreme accuracy. They knew when a bill was in the wrong slot by feel.

[Zack Attack]

Don't prejudge this one. It would be so so easy to put braille identifiers on all bills, and legally speaking what they're not doing violates the fourteenth amendment.

What? And then discriminate against those who are blind and have no sense of touch?

[ResponseAbility]

Well, currently people can see what kind of change you get and it doesn’t seem all that exciting to thieves to go for small bill change anyway.

However, it would be no problem to make cashier readout pads that provide a braille account of the transaction.