However, these notes have not been released to the public as yet because the law which authorizes them has yet to be passed. Hopefully with additional stability in the country, and new legislators in place, these important symbols of Haitian independence can be available for everyone to see. And for the first time, with the use of Kreyol, they will also be widely understood as well.

The 10 Gourdes note features a revolutionary woman, that of Lt. Suzanne (Sanite) Belair, who with her husband lead valient battles against French General, Charles LeClerc. Sanite, age 23, and her husband were executed together by the French for their role in the revolution.

Haiti is the only country in the world where slaves have risen up and thrown out their masters. It was done at great costs of lives and they paid dearly for many years. The last President, Jean-Bertrand Aristede, initiated a reparations suit against the French for $21 Billion because of their transgressions after the war of independence.

The 50 Gourdes depicts General (Francois) Capoix-la-Mort who has never been honored on a banknote, although his image first appeared on postage stamps in 1946. On 18 November 1803 Capoix-la-Mort, considered the bravest man in the Army won the final battle of Vertieres, defeating Donatien Rochambeau. During the battle Capoix's horse went down, "he picked himself up, drew his sword and advanced on foot," Rochambeau capitulated and "presented his favorite stallion to Dessalines and another horse to Capoix-la-Mort to replace the one the French had killed," The war ended with a great imbalance, 150,000 Haitians dead and 70,000 French succumbed (of which 20,000 were Creoles).

Each banknote also contains another first, the use of the Haitian flag as part of the banknote design. They also utilize Braille characters and a wide security strip similar to that used on the 20 Gourdes 2001 Constitution commemorative issue. For map collectors, there are two small carographic depictions of Haiti on the metalized strip.

The banknotes were printed by Gieseche + Dievrient in Germany.

The conception, design and historical investigation of the bicentennial series was done by Haitian architect and painter, Daniel Elie. Noted Haitian portraitist Barbot contributed the free interpretation of Sanite Belair, while the Dessalines and Capoix-la-Mort portraits were based on contemporary gravures. Lawyer and member of IBNS and LANSA, Joseph Guerdy-Lissade provided both historical numismatic analysis and support to the designer, Daniel Elie.

Contributed by http://www.crosswinds.net/~lansa/Archieves/Haiti/www.numismondo.com