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1 Gourde
| Issuer | Banque Nationale d'Haïti |
|---|---|
| Year | 1889 |
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| Currency | Third gourde (1872-date) |
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| Obverse description | An allegorical female figure stands to the left, with the Haitian national coat of arms at the right margin. The central text area carries the denomination UNE GOURDE in large letterpress type, framed by a lightly printed guilloche underprint in green. The note bears the heading REPUBLIQUE D'HAITI at the top, with signature lines at the bottom for Le Délégué des Finances, Le Directeur de la Banque, and a Membre de la Chambre des Comptes. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | REPUBLIQUE D'HAITI Série UNE GOURDE LE DÉLÉGUÉ DES FINANCES LE DIRECTEUR DE LA BANQUE MEMBRE DE LA CHAMBRE DES COMPTES |
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| Comments |
The Banque Nationale d'Haïti was not a Haitian institution in any meaningful sense — it was chartered by the Société Générale de Crédit Industriel et Commercial of Paris in 1880, with French interests retaining effective control over note issuance and currency policy for decades. The 1889 gourde notes were printed in France, and the bank's concession gave its French directors authority that sat uncomfortably alongside Haitian national sovereignty throughout this period.
The gourde had been formally pegged to the French franc under the 1880 arrangement, though enforcement was inconsistent and exchange rates drifted in practice. Pick 85 is a scarce survivor from a series that saw heavy attrition in a tropical climate hostile to paper.