20 Gourdes Bicentennial

Issued to mark the bicentennial of Haitian independence, which fell in 2004 — meaning this note arrived three years early, timed instead to the 2001 celebrations surrounding the broader independence commemorations. Haiti's bicentennial programming was politically fraught throughout this period, coinciding with deepening instability under Aristide's second presidency and the international aid disputes that preceded the 2004 coup.

The Canadian Bank Note Company has handled Haitian currency production across multiple series, a relationship that reflects the limited number of security printers willing to work with governments facing U.S. and international financial pressure during this period.