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2 Gourdes
| Issuer | Banque de la République d'Haïti |
|---|---|
| Year | 1980-1982 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 120 × 60 mm |
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| Obverse description | Central intaglio portrait vignette of Dr. François Duvalier, President-for-Life, set within a fine-line guilloche circle at centre; denomination numeral '2' rendered in ornate guilloche rosettes to left and right. The bank title 'BANQUE DE LA RÉPUBLIQUE D'HAÏTI' arches across the top in bold letterpress, with the denomination 'DEUX GOURDES' inscribed below the portrait and a legal tender clause running along the lower margin above three manuscript signature lines captioned 'LE GOUVERNEUR', 'LE GOUVERNEUR ADJOINT', and 'LE DIRECTEUR'. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The Haitian National Coat of Arms occupies a central guilloche medallion, rendered in intaglio and showing a royal palm flanked by cannons, cannonballs, and a drum beneath the national motto 'L'UNION FAIT LA FORCE'; large ornate cipher '2' vignettes fill the left and right fields against dense lathe-work guilloche underprint. The bank title 'BANQUE DE LA RÉPUBLIQUE D'HAÏTI' is displayed on a scrolled ribbon at the top, with 'DEUX GOURDES' in a bold panel below the arms and a three-line legal tender clause at the foot of the note. |
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| Comments |
The P#231 series was printed by the American Bank Note Company during a politically volatile stretch of the Duvalier era — Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" had inherited power from his father in 1971 and was attempting to project economic stability that the country's finances did not support. The 2 Gourdes was a workhorse denomination in a monetary system chronically short of hard currency, and ABNC's involvement reflected Haiti's long dependence on U.S.-based security printers stretching back decades.
The gourde itself had been pegged at 5 to the U.S. dollar since 1919, a rate that held with remarkable rigidity well into the 1980s despite profound fiscal pressure.