Brazilian cruzeiro real

Brazilian cruzeiro real
	A 1993 CR$5,000 banknote
ISO 4217
Code	BRR
Unit
Unit	cruzeiro real
Plural	cruzeiros reais
Symbol	CR$‎
Denominations
Subunit
1⁄100	centavo; (only used for accounting purposes)
Banknotes
Freq. used	50, 100, 500, 1,000, 5,000 and 50,000 cruzeiros reais
Coins
Freq. used	5, 10, 50, 100 cruzeiros reais
Demographics
Replaced	Cruzeiro (3rd version)
Replaced by	Real
User(s)	Brazil
Issuance
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
	This infobox shows the latest status before this currency was rendered obsolete.

The cruzeiro real ( $\mathrm {CRS} \!\!\!\Vert$ , plural: cruzeiros reais) was the short-lived currency of Brazil between August 1, 1993, and June 30, 1994. It was subdivided in 100 centavos; however, this subunit was used only for accounting purposes, and coins and banknotes worth 10 to 500 of the preceding cruzeiro remained valid and were used for the purpose of corresponding to centavos of the cruzeiro real, especially when the redenomination was carried out. The currency had the ISO 4217 code BRR.

This redenomination, at the beginning of the second half of 1993, was made with the objective of facilitating the accounting of day-to-day activities, which in the previous unit implied the placement of several zeros that made it difficult to record values in calculators and machines.

The cruzeiro real was replaced with the current Brazilian real as part of the Plano Real.

History

The cruzeiro real replaced the third cruzeiro, with 1,000 cruzeiros = 1 cruzeiro real. The cruzeiro real was replaced in circulation by the real at a rate of 1 real for 2,750 cruzeiros reais. Before this occurred, the unidade real de valor (pegged to the U.S. dollar at parity) was used in pricing, to allow the population to become accustomed to a stable currency (after many years of high inflation) before the real was introduced.

Coins

Standard circulation stainless-steel coins were issued in 1993 and 1994 in denominations of 5, 10, 50 and 100 cruzeiros reais. The reverse of the coins portrayed iconic animals of the Brazilian fauna. Coins worth 10 or more of the previous cruzeiro were retained to correspond to smaller denominations, such as the 1,000-cruzeiro coin for a single cruzeiro real, but became scarce by the end of 1993.

No commemorative coins were issued for the Cruzeiro Real.

Coins of the Cruzeiro Real
Reverse	Obverse	Value	Details
		CR$5	Portrays macaws
		CR$10	Portrays a giant anteater
		CR$50	Portrays jaguars
		CR$100	Portrays a maned wolf^[1]

The macaw and jaguar were represented again in the Real's R$10 and R$50 bills, respectively, after their introduction in 1994, and the maned wolf was later portrayed in the R$200 bill since its introduction in late 2020.^[1]

Banknotes

The 50,000 cruzeiro real banknote had the shortest time in circulation: it was released on March 30, 1994, Plano Real was introduced on July 1, 1994, and it ceased to be legal tender on September 15 of that year.^[2]

In 1993, provisional banknotes were introduced in the form of cruzeiro notes overprinted in the new currency. These were in denominations of 50, 100 and 500 cruzeiros reais. Regular notes followed in denominations of 1,000, 5,000 and 50,000 cruzeiros reais. The 10,000 cruzeiros reais banknote was designed and scheduled to be put into circulation in the first months of 1994, but inflation and the impending release of a new economic plan put its release on hold and only the 50,000 Cruzeiro real banknote was released.^[3]

A CR$5,000 banknote portraying a gaúcho and chimarrão-shaped watermarks

References

^ ^a ^b Fonseca, Jaqueline (31 July 2020). "Conheça o lobo-guará, animal do cerrado que estampa nota de R$ 200" [Meet the maned wolf, an animal from the cerrado that appears on the R$200 bill]. Correio Braziliense (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2 August 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
^ "Museu de Valores do Banco Central" [Central Bank Museum of Values] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Central Bank of Brazil. Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
^ Dez Mil Cruzeiros Reais (1993) - A Cédula que Nunca Circulou Archived 2015-06-07 at the Wayback Machine Dinheiro de Metal, accessed in January 3, 2016.

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