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8 Gourdes
| Issuer | République d'Haïti |
|---|---|
| Year | 1827 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 8 Gourdes |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | LIBERTÉ ÉGALITÉ REPUBLIQUE D'HAÏTI 400 HUIT GOURDES Le présent billet circulera dans la République pour la valeur de HUIT GOURDES, et le Trésor public en garantit la valeur en papier, en vertu de la loi du 16 Avril 1827. Le Membre Signataire |
| Reverse description | Completely unprinted reverse, left blank in the typeset letterpress style typical of early Haitian Treasury notes of the 1827 issue. |
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| Comments |
Haiti's 1827 8 Gourdes note is an unusual denomination by any measure — powers of two don't appear in most currency systems, and the 8 Gourdes figure reflects the old Spanish colonial arithmetic still embedded in Haitian monetary practice, where the peso de ocho, the piece of eight, cast a long shadow over post-independence accounting.
The Republic was only 23 years old when this was issued, its finances already strained by the indemnity payments to France that began in 1825 — 150 million francs extracted as the price of diplomatic recognition, a debt that crippled Haitian public finances for generations and made sound paper currency almost impossible to sustain.