News of international presidential assassinations in third world countries is just not as common in the modern era versus decades past. Haiti is now the most recent nation to have seen a presidential assassination. Haiti is a nation that most Americans and many Europeans know very little about. It is important to be cordial and sensitive over a tragic event, and the majority of the Haitian people have had very difficult lives. It is also important for those with assets at risk to consider what happens to personal assets in a time of tragedy.

The impoverished and troubled nation of Haiti ranks among the highest (12th) in the World Banks poverty ratio and transparency International had it ranked 170th (out of 180) on its Corruption Perceptions Index. The CIA World Factbook counts Haiti as the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere and has noted that Haiti has suffered from repressive and corrupt regimes — as well as that the nation continues to experience bouts of political instability. The long and short of the matter is that life was also hard in this nation long before the 2010 earthquake and Hurricane Matthew (2016) ravaged the already impoverished nation.

So, what happens to national pride and a nation’s collectibles after news that Haitian President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in his home? Moise’s rule was already in the midst of political strife where portions of the country have effectively been taken over by armed gangs and the internal political situation is dire. Haiti’s interim prime minister is currently in charge of the country and he has declared a two-week state of siege which places security and justice under military control and which limits people in movement, gathering and puts limits on freedom of information.

Most collectibles from nations such as Haiti are rather limited due to many more factors than the above reasons. While personal valuables may be considered collectibles, this more or less puts light on collectibles such as stamps, coins, art, historical documents and whatever sports collectibles may be present. With a state of siege, many collectors and investors would likely not be in rapid agreement that these would be among the highest and most in-demand goods.

As for Collectors Dashboard, our view, even in a state of siege, is that many of the collectibles surrounding Haiti will still hold up as an alternative asset class. After all, if banks are closed or facing limited operations, it may be necessary for bartering — and that may include silver coins and other stores of value which fall within collectibles. And it is important to further consider that the bulk of high-value collectibles regarding Haiti’s history, coins, stamps and art have likely been held outside of Haiti for years.

A search on eBay revealed that sales took place on July 7, 2021 for Decision 2020 Jovenel Moise Haiti World Leaders Flag Patch cards, and another search under completed and sold items under postage stamps from July 6 and July 7 were $20.00 and less. Most of the Haiti coins and paper money sales at the time were also generally lower prices, although several coins and paper currency from the 1800s had sold on July 5 at higher prices and on July 4 there had been multiple silver coin sales and other historical numismatics sales. Art sales have also not seen a big spike in sales activity on the eBay platform.

The website Etsy also lists many smaller Haiti stamp collections for a few dollars up to $32.00 and many historic coins under $50.00.

Heritage Auctions also has several upcoming sales of historic currency and has seen multiple sales of paper money and coins from Haiti over the last decade.

The James Cummins bookseller site listed a collection of documents from Presidents of the Republic of Haiti, with 20 documents ranging from 1812 to 1916, for a price of $5,000.00.

Sotheby’s has also sold Haitian artwork.

The site Haitian Masters from Miami also sells Haitian artwork as does the site 1stDibs.

Collectors Dashboard evaluates collectibles as an alternative asset class competing for the same money that would have otherwise been invested in stocks, bonds or real estate. This holds true in Haiti’s aftermath of what is starting to unfold as a similar book and movie story called The Dogs of War. Using basic metrics such as supply and demand, as well as a smaller national population and a generalized lower international interest about Haiti, may not make a strong investment case for collectibles items from or about Haiti compared to many other nations. Then again, this situation has not fully played out at the current time.

Additional issues that may keep Haiti’s overall demand for collectibles low beyond its poverty is that the population of 11.2 million or so is rather small. And despite what could ultimately be a low-cost tourist destination, tourism in Haiti has suffered for countless years due to continuous safety and health concerns. The United States already had a Level 4 ‘Do Not Travel’ warning before the presidential assassination due to kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, and COVID-19.

International news can be tragic, but it sometimes may have no significant impact on national assets (including collectibles). The situation is still developing with reports of foreign assassins being killed and captured.