Brazilian cruzeiro

Brazilian cruzeiro
cruzeiro (Portuguese)
User(s)	Brazil
Subunit
1/100	centavo
Plural	cruzeiros
Central bank	Central Bank of Brazil
Website	www.bc.gov.br
Printer	Casa da Moeda do Brasil
Website	www.casadamoeda.com.br
Mint	Casa da Moeda do Brasil
Website	www.casadamoeda.com.br

The cruzeiro (Portuguese pronunciation: [kɾuˈzejɾu]) was the currency of Brazil from 1942 to 1986 (two distinct currencies) and again between 1990 and 1993. The name refers to the constellation of the Southern Cross, known in Brazil as Cruzeiro do Sul, or simply Cruzeiro ^[1].

The first cruzeiro circulated between 1942 and 1967 and had the symbol $\mathrm{Cr}\,$ or ₢ (in Unicode U+20A2 ₢ cruzeiro sign) and the ISO 4217 code BRZ.

The second cruzeiro circulated between 1967 and 1986. It had the symbol $\mathrm{NCr}\,$ / $\mathrm{NCrS}\!\!\!\Vert$ (1967-1970) or $\mathrm{CrS}\!\!\!\Vert$ (1970-1986) and the ISO 4217 code BRB.

The third cruzeiro had the symbol $\mathrm{CrS}\!\!\!\Vert$ and the ISO 4217 code BRE. All three cruzeiros were subdivided into 100 centavos.

First Cruzeiro (Cruzeiro "antigo"), 1942-1967

The first cruzeiro was issued from 1942 to 1967. It had the ISO 4217 code BRZ. It replaced the real at a rate of 1000 réis = 1 cruzeiro and was replaced in 1967 by the cruzeiro novo at a rate of 1000 cruzeiros = 1 cruzeiro novo.

Coins

In 1942, coins were introduced in denominations of 10, 20 and 50 centavos, and 1, 2 and 5 cruzeiros. The centavos were initially struck in cupro-nickel, switching to aluminium-bronze in 1943, whilst the cruzeiros were struck in aluminium-bronze from the start. The 5 cruzeiros was not struck after 1943. Aluminium replaced aluminium-bronze in 1956 and 1957 in all the coins. Coinage stopped production in 1961, restarting in 1965 with aluminium 10 and 20 cruzeiros, and cupro-nickel 50 cruzeiros. In 1964, the "centavo" coins were withdrawn, and the other coins were withdrawn between 1967 and 1968.

Banknotes

The first banknotes were overprints on earlier mil réis notes, with denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 cruzeiros. Regular issues of banknotes began in 1943 with the addition of 1000 cruzeiro notes. 1 and 2 cruzeiro notes were introduced in 1944, followed by 5000 cruzeiros in 1963 and 10,000 cruzeiros in 1966. The 1 and 2 cruzeiros were not produced after 1958.

Second Cruzeiro (Cruzeiro Novo), 1967-1986

In 1967, Brazil introduced the cruzeiro novo (the word "novo" only appearing on the provisional issue of banknotes), with 1 cruzeiro novo equal to 1000 "old" cruzeiros. It had the ISO 4217 code BRB. In 1986, the country switched to the cruzado, worth 1000 cruzeiros (novos).

Coins

Coins were introduced in 1967 in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 centavos, followed by 1 cruzeiro in 1970. The 1, 2 and 5 centavos were struck in stainless steel, with the higher denominations struck in cupro-nickel or nickel, replaced by stainless steel in 1974 and 1975 except in the 1 cruzeiro. Between 1979 and 1981, stainless-steel 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cruzeiros were introduced, followed by smaller, stainless-steel 100, 200 and 500 cruzeiros in 1985.

Cruzeiro banknotes from 1984

Banknotes

In 1967, provisional issues were made consisting of "old" cruzeiro notes which were overstamped with the values 1, 5, 10 and 50 centavos, and 1, 5 and 10 cruzeiros novos. These notes were withdrawn between 1972 and 1975. In 1970, regular issues of notes were introduced in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 50 and 100 cruzeiros. 500 cruzeiro notes were introduced in 1972, followed by 1000 cruzeiros in 1978. In 1981, a new serie of banknotes was issued in values of 100, 200, 500, 1000 and 5000 cruzeiros. Banknotes up to 50 cruzeiros of the previous series were replaced by coins by 1984 and 10,000 and 50,000 cruzeiro banknotes were introduced, followed by 100,000 cruzeiros in 1985, by which time notes up to 500 cruzeiros had been replaced by coins.

Third Cruzeiro, 1990-1993

In 1990, Brazil switched back to using the name cruzeiro for its currency. The cruzeiro replaced the cruzado novo at par. It had the ISO 4217 code BRE. This third cruzeiro was used until 1993, when it was replaced by the cruzeiro real at a rate of 1 cruzeiro real = 1000 cruzeiros.

Coins

The 1, 5, 10 and 50 centavo coins issued in 1989 for use with the previous currency continued in use after the introduction of the cruzeiro. In 1990, stainless-steel 1, 5, 10 and 50 cruzeiro coins were introduced, followed by smaller 100, 500, 1000 and 5000 cruzeiros in 1992.

Banknotes

The first banknotes were overprints on cruzado novo notes, in denominations of 50, 100, 200 and 500 cruzeiros. In 1990, regular notes in values of 100, 200, 500, 1000 and 5000 cruzeiros were introduced, followed by 10,000 and 50,000 cruzeiros in 1991, 100,000 cruzeiros in 1992 and 500,000 cruzeiros in 1993. In 1992, the 50 and 100 cruzeiro banknotes were withdrawn and the higher denominations were withdrawn in 1994.

References

1. ^ Faber, M., [http://www.historialivre.com/brasil/dinheiro_brasil.pdf "História do Dinheiro no Brasil" (in Portuguese)

• Krause, Chester L. and Clifford Mishler (1991). Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1801–1991 (18th ed. ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0873411501. 
• Pick, Albert (1994). Standard Catalog of World Paper Money: General Issues. Colin R. Bruce II and Neil Shafer (editors) (7th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0-87341-207-9. 

External links

• Brazilian Central Bank page on the Cruzeiro - authoritative source
• Article on Brazilian currency from the New Yorker
• Paper money of Brazil (Russian leng.)