Collecting Haiti: A Varied Pursuit

HAITI HAS ALWAYS been attractive to coin collectors because its limited size makes set completion conceivably achievable. It is almost entirely a post-colonial coin issuer, with just three types issued in 1802 prior to fully achieved independence. These first coins were struck under Governor Toussaint L’Ouverture, who straddled the line between Napoleon Bonaparte’s french control and the establishment of a more autonomous colony aligned with France. From 1800 until 1801 L’Ouverture ruled as governor but soon declared himself Governor-General for Life, leading the way to his eminent downfall in 1802 and eventual death in 1803. The final push to independence was made in L’Ouverture’s absence through Jean-Jacques Dessalines who proclaimed sovereignty in January 1804 under the indigenous name Haiti. But further coin issues remained a distant dream.

Because the driving force and ideology of this revolution was the abolition of slavery and the wars had been fought