note: there is a US quarter under the bowl to show relative size
This spoon has a 20 centime (20 cents) silver coin bowl dated 1882 which was the second year these coins were made.
The finial is a cutout of the national coat of arms from a second coin
Haiti does not have a very good reputation at this time.
Most of us think of it as being extremely poor with a large population.
The fact that they speak French also is a negative.
However, this was not always the case.
An uprising of the imported slaves under the leadership of Toussaint L' Overture
was successful in driving out the French. After a 20 year struggle, Haiti became the
first independent black country in the world in 1803.
King Christophe created a new monetary unit based upon the 'gourd'.
In typical corrupt Haiti style, he confiscated all the gourds and then required that all
the natives sell him their coffee in exchange for gourds. He then exported the coffee
to Europe in exchange for hard currency.
The new silver coinage was minted in Paris starting in 1881. This silver coinage did not
last long and by 1900 the currency of Haiti was paper, nickel and copper which were
not acceptable to any other country.
