100 Gourdes

The Banque Nationale de la République d'Haïti occupied an unusual institutional position during this period — it functioned simultaneously as the central bank and the commercial bank of the state, a dual role that generated chronic instability in note issuance and fiscal management. The 100 Gourdes was the highest denomination in regular circulation across much of this series' lifespan, at a time when the gourde was officially pegged at five to the US dollar, a rate Haiti had maintained since the American occupation years.

American Bank Note Company held the contract through multiple Haitian administrations, including the turbulent transition to the Duvalier government in 1957. The thirteen-year date span of this issue reflects political reluctance to commission redesigns rather than any continuity of policy.