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2 Gourdes
| Issuer | République d'Haïti |
|---|---|
| Year | 1884 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | REPUBLIQUE D'HAITI LIBERTE - EGALITE - FRATERNITE DEUX GOURDES OCTOBRE 1884 |
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| Reverse lettering | CEUX QUI AURONT CONTREFAIT OU QUI AURONT DES BILLETS DE BANQUE AUTORISES PAR LE GOUVERNEMENT ET FERONT USAGE DE CES BILLETS CONTREFAITS SERONT PUNIS CONFORMEMENT A LA LOI |
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| Comments |
Haiti's financial position in the 1880s was strained by the indemnity payments still being made to France — the infamous debt first imposed in 1825 as the price of diplomatic recognition. The Banque Nationale d'Haïti, established in 1881 with French capital, had a troubled relationship with the government from the start, and small-denomination notes like this one circulated in an economy where public trust in paper instruments was perpetually fragile.
The American Bank Note Company's involvement reflects a broader pattern of Haitian authorities contracting New York engravers rather than European ones during this period — a deliberate distancing from French financial influence, even as Paris held the purse strings on the debt.