# Visually impaired persons and US paper currency **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 20, 2008, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visually-impaired-persons-and-us-paper-currency/434239 "2008-01-20T06:41:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2008, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visually-impaired-persons-and-us-paper-currency/434239/1 "2008-01-20T06:41:19Z")
Thoughts of the movie ‘Scent of a Woman’ brought this question to mind. Lt. Col. Slade hands out a decent amount of cash, but the movie character is blind. Given that US currency is of uniform size, how does one with a visual impairment discern a $1 from any other denomination, such that they offer a proper amount, and aren’t cheated when given change, absent assistance from a sighted party? ---
**Author:** ![brickbacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@brickbacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brickbacon)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2008, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visually-impaired-persons-and-us-paper-currency/434239/2 "2008-01-20T06:53:46Z")
Many blind people will fold each denomination in a different way when it is in their wallet, enabling them to tell the bill they are giving to someone. I assume they can pay near the exact amount to ensure they get the proper change ([Cite](http://www.ourmoneytoo.org/faq.php)). > [@](#): > > Blind people use several techniques for organizing money once they receive it. One common method is to fold each denomination in a different way. For example, ones might not be folded at all, while fives are folded in half widthwise, tens folded once in half lengthwise, twenties folded twice, etc. There are also wallets with separate compartments for each type of bill and devices for marking currency with raised dots. While these systems help blind people to handle money more easily, the fact that there is no way to tell the bills apart when receiving change means that no matter how organized they are, blind people still have to rely on a sighted person or a machine to identify each bill for them before they can file it away using the system of their choice. If they leave their house with enough money that is organized properly, they can just pay an amount which allows for little ambiguity with regard to the change they receive. If something costs $52.95, they can give someone either exact change, $53, or $55, without having to worry about not being able to ensure they get the right change. They could give more money than that, and just ask for ones as well. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2008, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visually-impaired-persons-and-us-paper-currency/434239/3 "2008-01-20T07:13:26Z")
You gotta have faith! Would you cheat a blind person? Of course not! Neither would I. Nor would 99.9 percent of the people you or I know. Blind people know this as well. And who do they give money to? The same people everyone else gives money to. Retail sales clerks/ cashiers, and, and, and,…I can’t think of a single cash transaction I’ve made in years that didn’t involve a retail sale. So the only reason for them to fold their money in a certain way is so they can count it. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2008, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visually-impaired-persons-and-us-paper-currency/434239/4 "2008-01-20T16:22:45Z")
I remember there was a case about a year ago where a federal judge ordered the Treasury to start printing bills in different sizes of find some other way to make them distinguishable to the blind. With a little Googling, it looks like [this](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/28/AR2006112801403.html) would be the case. I assume its under appeal, as the ruling was issued over a year ago and I’ve yet to see any change to the money in my wallet. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2008, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visually-impaired-persons-and-us-paper-currency/434239/5 "2008-01-20T17:07:25Z")
[QUOTE=flurb] I remember there was a case about a year ago where a federal judge ordered the Treasury to start printing bills in different sizes of find some other way to make them distinguishable to the blind. With a little Googling, it looks like [this](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/28/AR2006112801403.html) would be the case. I assume its under appeal, as the ruling was issued over a year ago and I’ve yet to see any change to the money in my wallet. [/QUOTE] In Canada, the bills have Braille on them, to help the blind identify them. From what I can tell (I don’t read Braille, but I like looking for the dots anyways) once the bills get circulated for a while, the dots kind of get squished out and disappear; they become nearly impossible to find with a bill that has been folded or crumpled. Different coloured bills help, because the fact is most blind people aren’t 100% blind; they can often see shapes and forms of people or objects near them, and many can distinguish colour in those shapes. I have a feeling, though, that US bills, even with the slight traces of colour the new ones have, aren’t enough. I’d be interested to see where this case goes. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2008, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visually-impaired-persons-and-us-paper-currency/434239/6 "2008-01-20T17:21:08Z")
We [did this one](http://208.100.26.199/sdmb/showthread.php?t=398018&highlight=money+blind) right after the case came out. Led to an interesting discussion.