Haiti Gourde – Banknote History

Haiti is located in the Caribbean on the island of Hispaniola. Interestingly, the island is home to Haiti on the west and the Dominican Republic on the east. Both countries were settled by European powers. Haiti was a colony of the French and the DR was a colony of Spain. There have been a few quarrels between the neighbors but, both have maintained their sovereignty. Haiti declared independence from France in 1804. Modern day Haiti is visited by tourists because of its location in the Caribbean and its nice beaches.

The First Gourde in Haiti

Moving on to its currency, the Haitian Gourde was introduced in 1813. Before its introduction the Haitian Livre was the official currency of the French colony. The first generation Gourde banknotes were simple in design. The Haiti 100 Gourdes, 1827 looks more like a flyer than an actual banknote. It has the coat of arms on the front with the denomination in the center. The Gourde was revalued in 1870 and then again in 1872.

The new Gourde series started developing better and more modern designs. As a result, the Haiti 25 Centimes, 1888 looks very modern. Later designs followed the same design up until the 1930’s when the bills took on a redesign that gave off a USD type feeling. They were printed by the American Banknote Company. The 2 Gourdes, 1935 is colored in blue and white. It features an image of former president Stenio Vincent and on the back is the coat of arms. The designs stayed relatively the same until 2004. That’s when the current redesign happened.

The current design of Gourdes took on a very modern and colorful design. Also, many of the banknotes feature former historical figures that relate to Haitian independence. The 100 Gourdes, 2016 features Henri Christophe who fought for independence against the French. The 10 Gourde features an image of Sanité Belair who is famous for her fight against the French. All of the new designs also have upgraded security features.