2 Gourdes Independence

Haiti's 1903 2 Gourdes was issued during a period of acute financial instability, when the Banque Nationale d'Haïti — itself a French-controlled institution despite its name — was struggling to maintain public confidence in paper currency against a population that strongly preferred coin. The Independence series name references the centenary of Haitian independence, celebrated in 1904, and these notes were likely prepared in anticipation of that anniversary.

ABNC's work for Haiti from this period is technically accomplished. The plates were engraved in New York, with security features typical of the company's Latin American commissions of the era.