10 Gourdes

Haiti's earliest paper currency issues emerged from a state treasury chronically starved of specie following the 1825 indemnity agreement with France — 150 million francs demanded in exchange for diplomatic recognition, a sum that immediately destabilized the national finances and forced the government toward paper instruments it lacked the institutional infrastructure to manage credibly. The 1827 issues were among the first formal gourde-denominated notes produced under the republic.

P#5 is exceptionally rare in any condition. The combination of tropical climate, a largely cash-skeptical rural population, and the near-total collapse of the note-issuing apparatus within a few years meant survival rates were negligible.