Caricatured Haitian, 50 Centimes, from the series Coins of All Nations (N72, variation 2) for Duke brand cigarettes 1889

This is a lithograph trading card of a Haitian 50 Centimes coin, made around 1900 by W. Duke, Sons & Co. for their brand of cigarettes. The coin is presented as the body of a Black man, his head and feet protruding from it in caricature. The image draws on deeply ingrained racist tropes. Haiti was the first free black republic, established in 1804 after a slave revolt, and this card presents the nation and its people as figures of fun. The French motto ‘Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité’ on the coin is ironic, given the context of racial inequality. The phrase ‘Value 37 Cts’ at the bottom right of the card is revealing; even in its own currency, Haiti is worth less than the American dollar. To understand this image better, we can look to sources that give us insight into the complex social and political dynamics of the period, like historical newspapers, census data, and company records.