Most people with low vision, and all blind people, are incapable of looking at American currency and distinguishing one denomination from another. In order to know whether the bill in her hand is worth five dollars or fifty, a blind person must ask someone else for help or use a machine that can identify the denomination and speak it out loud.
Of the more than 180 countries that issue paper currency, only the United States prints bills that are identical in size and color in all their denominations. The Euro varies in size based on denomination: the greater the value of the note, the greater the length. The Swiss Franc contains intaglio digits and a perforated numeral that can be identified by touch. In Japan, in a new design for the Yen, has incorporated a tactile feature in the ¥10,000, ¥5,000 and ¥1,000 notes, different for each note, that has a rougher texture than the rest of the bill. The Canadian Dollar also contains tactile features according to denomination. Australia's dollars differ in color and size. English Pound notes vary in color and size and contain tactile symbols. Chinese currency differs in color and possesses a tactile symbol, as does the currency in Argentina and Israel. Saudi Arabia's currency varies in color and size.
Even Congress has expressed interest in changing U.S. currency to accommodate the visually impaired. In 1997, the House of Representatives "strongly encouraged the Secretary of the Treasury and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to incorporate cost-effective, tactile features into the design changes, thereby including the blind and visually impaired community in independent currency usage," to no avail.