Haitian gourde
Worldwide use:
- Haiti
Description:
The Haitian Gourde is the official currency of Haiti. One Haitian Gourde is worth 100 Centimes. There are no coins in circulation and banknotes come in 10, 25, 50, 100, 250 and 500 Gourdes. 1, 2, 5 and 1000 Gourde banknotes also exist but are not often used.
The Haitian Gourde used to be pegged to the French Franc and US Dollar at a rate of five to one. As a result, five Gourdes is sometimes called a 'Haitian Dollar' and five Centimes is a 'Haitian Penny.' These names are still used to price goods and services today.
Origin:
There have been three versions of the Haitian Gourde. The first was established in 1813 to replace the Livre with one Gourde being worth 8 Livres and 5 Sous. Then, in 1870, a revaluation of the Gourde lead to the introduction of a second version worth 10 old Gourdes. In 1872, the currency was revalued once more with one new Gourde being equal to 300 of the second version of Gourde. This third gourde remains in circulation today.
Component units:
- centime (100)
Date introduced:
- 1813
Central bank:
- Bank of the Republic of Haiti
Printer:
Mint:
