Catalog
5 Gourdes
| Issuer | Banque Nationale de la République d'Haïti |
|---|---|
| Year | 1946-1950 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The Haitian national coat of arms occupies the centre within an elaborate guilloche framework, flanked on both sides by large ornamental numeral 5 medallions set against a dense lathe-work underprint filling the entire field. BANQUE NATIONALE DE LA REPUBLIQUE D'HAITI arches across the top, with CINQ GOURDES inscribed on a decorative panel at the base, and the printer's imprint AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY appearing at the lower margin. |
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| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Comments |
The Banque Nationale de la République d'Haïti contracted the American Bank Note Company extensively through the mid-twentieth century, and this 5 Gourdes belongs to a postwar series issued during a period of relative political stability under President Estimé and his successor Magloire. The Gourde had been pegged one-to-one with the US dollar since 1919 — a fixed rate maintained with unusual discipline for decades — which made notes of this denomination genuinely functional in everyday commerce rather than token instruments.
ABNC's intaglio work on Haitian issues from this period is generally fine, though the watermark security on the P#172 series is modest by contemporary standards.