Strange as it may sound, collectors will tell you the one thing you never want to do to a valuable coin is touch it. OK, you can hold it by the edges, but when the front or back is touched, the oil from fingers can discolor and permanently affect the surface. Some formerly valuable coins have been all but ruined because a fingerprint is visible.

That's something of a drag considering the whole allure of collecting is the beauty or fascination of an object. And, as humans, we just can't resist touching them. While it's our nature, it may present a problem for a new coin to be issued in 2009.

A commemorative dollar coin slated to be released next year salutes the life-changing creation of Louis Braille. After a freak accident resulting in blindness he developed the Braille alphabet, consisting of a code of six dots in varying patterns. The result is the ability for anyone who is blind to read virtually any book or even signs in buildings.

The new dollar will salute Louis Braille and his alphabet. Prominently featured on the coin are Braille letters. That's not entirely new. The Alabama quarter honoring Helen Keller included Braille letters. So, too, did the 1995 and 1996 Paralympic Silver Dollars. However, the Braille on both those coins was too small to be read.

So, it's a conundrum. Touching the first and only coin to be produced with readable Braille lettering could seriously devalue it. I don't have a solution other than the thought of buying two coins — one to collect and the other to touch. Then again, maybe that's what the Mint is hoping. Not a bad marketing move.

If the Braille dollar coin will be tempting to touch, the highly anticipated 2009 "Ultra High Relief" $20 gold coin will be next to impossible to resist.

The coin is modeled after what has been called "The most beautiful U.S. coin ever produced." Minted in 1907, the original $20 gold piece featured an allegorical figure of Liberty on the face and a flying eagle on the reverse. The kicker was the depth of the impression. It was so deep it looked more like a small statue than a coin. But, note the term "Ultra." Thousands of "High Relief" $20 gold coins were minted in 1907. But, precious few "Ultra High" versions were made. Today, only a handful exists. One sold at auction in 2005 brought $2,000,000. Between the coin's design and the value it's no wonder collectors would clamor for one.

The 2009 version will be a one-ounce pure gold coin available to collectors and investors. The term "pure" is especially appropriate because the gold content is refined to be .9999. That's about as pure as humanly possible. Because of the depth of the impression the coin will be a full 50 percent thicker than the current American Gold Eagle coin. In tribute to the 1907 Ultra High Relief coin it will have the original $20 denomination. However, at the present price of gold it will sell for $1,000 or more.

For a sneak peek the coin will be unveiled at the nation's largest coin show — the American Numismatic Association's World's Fair of Money being held in Baltimore, Md., July 30 through Aug. 3, 2008.

*Editor's Note: A JPEG visual of the Louis Braille commemorative dollar coin has been sent with this column.

To find out more about Peter Rexford and to read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2007 CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.