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1 Gourde
| Issuer | Banque Nationale d'Haïti |
|---|---|
| Year | 1887 |
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| Reference(s) | P#79 |
| Obverse description | The upper portion bears the bold inscription RÉPUBLIQUE D'HAÏTI flanked by a guilloche border and a numeral 1 in the upper right corner; at left, a vignette of the Haitian National Coat of Arms. To the right, an allegorical female figure reclines in a pastoral setting rendered in fine intaglio engraving. The central text field states the note is issued under government authority, guaranteed by coffee export duties per the law of 3 November 1887, with the denomination UNE GOURDE repeated in large letterpress text across the lower portion. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | CEUX QUI AURONT CONTREFAIT DES BILLETS DE BANQUE AUTORISÉS PAR LE GOUVERNEMENT, AINSI QUE CEUX QUI AURONT FAIT USAGE DE CES BILLETS CONTREFAITS OU FALSIFIÉS, SERONT PUNIS CONFORMÉMENT À LA LOI OU FALSIFIÉ LES BILLETS DE BANQUE AUTORISÉS PAR LE GOUVERNEMENT, AINSI QUE CEUX QUI AURONT FAIT USAGE DE CES BILLETS CONTREFAITS OU FALSIFIÉS, SERONT PUNIS CONFORMÉMENT À LA LOI |
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| Comments |
The Banque Nationale d'Haïti was itself a contested institution — chartered in 1880 under a concession heavily influenced by French banking interests, specifically the Crédit Industriel et Commercial in Paris, though the notes were printed in London by Skipper & East. That split between French financial control and British printing is a recurring feature of late nineteenth-century Haitian currency.
The 1887 date places this note in a period of relative monetary stability before the severe fiscal deterioration that followed the Haitian-Dominican border disputes and the chronic debt burden of the 1825 French indemnity, which continued draining state finances well into this era.
Skipper & East also produced notes for several South African and Caribbean issuers during this period, often working from engraved plates shared or adapted across colonial and post-colonial clients.