500 Gourdes Mermaid

Haiti's 1973 gold issues were produced as part of a broader commemorative program authorized under Jean-Claude Duvalier, who had assumed the presidency just two years earlier following his father's death. The series targeted the international collector market rather than domestic circulation — hard currency was not being committed to coins Haitian citizens would ever spend.

KM#109 is tied to a run of issues exploiting folkloric themes for export appeal, a common strategy among Caribbean nations during the 1970s coin boom driven by Franklin Mint-style collector programs.