Brazilian currency from 1942 to 1967
Cruzeiro (1942?1967)
Example of a Cr$5 note of 1963 of the 2nd print, portraying the bust of
Barao do Rio Branco
on the obverse
|
|
Code
| None
|
---|
|
Unit
| cruzeiro
|
---|
Plural
| cruzeiros
|
---|
Symbol
| Cr$
(also
- Cr $
- ?$
- Cr
- etc.
)
|
---|
|
Subunit
| |
---|
1
⁄
100
| centavo
|
---|
Plural
| |
---|
centavo
| centavos
|
---|
Banknotes
| Cr$1, Cr$2, Cr$5, Cr$10, Cr$20, Cr$50, Cr$100, Cr$200, Cr$500, Cr$1,000, Cr$5,000, Cr$10,000
|
---|
Coins
| Cr$0.10, Cr$0.20, Cr$0.50, Cr$1, Cr$2, Cr$5, Cr$10, Cr$20, Cr$50
|
---|
|
Date of introduction
| 1 November 1942
[1]
|
---|
Replaced
| Real
|
---|
Date of withdrawal
| 13 February 1967
[2]
|
---|
Replaced by
| Cruzeiro novo
|
---|
User(s)
| Brazil
|
---|
|
Printer
| American Bank Note Company
(1st print)
Thomas de la Rue
(2nd print)
Casa da Moeda do Brasil
(3rd print)
|
---|
|
Value
| - Cr$1
- Cr$2
- Cr$5
- Cr$10
- Cr$20
- Cr$50
- Cr$100
- Cr$200
- Cr$500
- Cr$1,000
- Cr$5,000
- Cr$10,000
(1st print)
- Cr$2
- Cr$5
- Cr$10
- Cr$20
- Cr$50
- Cr$100
- Cr$200
- Cr$500
- Cr$1,000
- Cr$5,000
(2nd print)
Cr$5
(3rd print)
|
---|
This infobox shows the latest status before this currency was rendered obsolete.
|
The (first)
cruzeiro
(
Cr$
or
C$
) was the official
currency
of
Brazil
from 1942 to 1967.
[1]
It replaced the old
real
(pl.
reis
), which had been in use since colonial times, at the rate of Rs 1$000 = Cr$1, It was in turn replaced by the
cruzeiro novo
, at the rate of Cr$1,000 = NCr$1.
[2]
The name
cruzeiro
was later reused for two other currencies, which were official in
1970?1986
(initially denominated as the
cruzeiro novo
to avoid confusion between new and old currency) and
1990?1993
.
The cruzeiro was divided into 100
centavos
, a convention that persisted through all subsequent Brazilian currencies, but in the first cruzeiro, values below Cr$0.10 were never issued because Rs 10 coins (equivalent to Cr$0.01) had not circulated since the end of the 19th century, and Rs 20 and Rs 50 coins (equivalent to Cr$0.02 and Cr$0.05 respectively) had not been issued since 1935.
Initially, the project, dating from the late 1920s, was that the amount to be converted into a cruzeiro would be Rs 10$000 (ten
mil-reis
) and that the new currency was linked to the gold standard, but this project was aborted and the cruzeiro was put into circulation at par with the value of Rs 1$000 (one
mil-reis
) without linked to the gold standard, which changed the situation by making coins below 10 centavos not exist in this monetary standard.
History
[
edit
]
Since colonial times, the main currency in Brazil had been the real; first the same as the Portuguese currency, and a separate currency after the
country's independence
in 1822.
On 1 November 1942 the real was replaced by a new currency, the "cruzeiro", officially worth Rs 1$000 (
mil reis
, pronounced
mirreis
) ? which had long been used informally as the currency unit for most retail trades. The old reis banknotes and coins remained in use for a while.
[1]
Some were overstamped with the amount in cruzeiros. New cruzeiro banknotes were printed starting in 1943.
By 1967 devaluation (
inflation
) of the cruzeiro had rendered prices unwieldy, so on 13 February 1967 the
military government
decreed its replacement by a new currency, the
cruzeiro novo
(NCr$), at a rate of NCr$1 = Cr$1,000.
[2]
Name
[
edit
]
The name refers to the constellation of the
Southern Cross
, known in Brazil as
Cruzeiro do Sul
, or simply
Cruzeiro
.
[3]
Prominently visible in the southern hemisphere, it is a major cultural icon in Brazilian history. It is used in a number of Brazilian states' flags, was part of companies' logotypes (like former Sudameris bank or flight company Cruzeiro do Sul) and also gave the name of
Cruzeiro Esporte Clube
, one of the main Brazilian soccer teams.
The name
cruzeiro
for the brazilian currency was proposed in 1926, by Brazilian economist
Carlos Ingles de Sousa
(1882?1948).
[
citation needed
]
The first editorial of the Brazilian weekly magazine
Cruzeiro
apparently refers to this proposal as an alleged inspiration for its name.
[4]
[5]
Initially, the plan, in the late 1920s, was to implement the Cruzeiro with the equivalent of Rs 10$000 (ten mil-reis), the currency being linked to the gold standard. However, due to the
crash of 1929
, the subsequent
revolution of 1930
and the abandonment of the gold standard by the world in 1933, this project was abandoned, with the redenomination only taking place in 1942, with Cruzeiro having the equivalent of the circulating mil-reis.
Symbol
[
edit
]
The cruzeiro broke with Portuguese and Brazilian traditions for the writing of currency amounts. Instead of using the double-stroke dollar sign (
cifrao
) as a
thousands separator
(as was the practice with reais) or as the
decimal fraction separator
(as Portugal adopted when it switched to the
escudo
and centavos), the cruzeiro followed its traditional notation for numbers in general, with
period
(".") and
comma
(",") used for those two functions, respectively.
The dollar sign was retained, but as part of the new currency symbol "Cr $" (two separate letters and a single-stroke
dollar sign
, with a space before the latter, to be written before the number, "whatever its amount".
[1]
However, in subsequent years the two-stroke variant of the sign was often used too, and the space was usually omitted.
[6]
Also, some
typewriters
and
typefaces
provided a
typographic ligature
"
?
" (available in
Unicode
) to replace the "Cr" (thus producing "?$").
Coins
[
edit
]
Six denominations of coin were introduced in 1942: Cr$0.10, Cr$0.20 and Cr$0.50, and Cr$1, Cr$2 and Cr$5. The centavos were initially struck in
cupronickel
, switching to
aluminium bronze
in 1943, whilst the cruzeiros were struck in aluminium bronze from the start. The Cr$5 was not struck after 1943.
First issue of standard circulating coins of the Cruzeiro (1942?1967)
Reverse
|
Obverse
|
Value
|
Diameter
|
Minting period
|
Obverse description
|
|
|
Cr$0.10
|
17 mm
|
1942?1947
|
Portrays
Getulio Vargas
|
|
|
Cr$0.20
|
19 mm
|
1942?1948
|
|
|
Cr$0.50
|
21 mm
|
1942?1947
|
|
|
Cr$1
|
23 mm
|
1942-1956
|
Portrays a
relief map
of Brazil
|
|
|
Cr$2
|
25 mm
|
|
|
Cr$5
|
27 mm
|
1942?1943
|
Following the end of the
Vargas Era
, in 1947 and 1948 replacements for the Cr$0.10, Cr$0.20 and Cr$0.50 coins were issued that did not portray Getulio Vargas on the obverse. The new designs featured busts of proeminent Brazilian people, along with the new president,
Dutra
.
Second issue of standard circulating coins of the Cruzeiro (1942?1967)
Reverse
|
Obverse
|
Value
|
Diameter
|
Minting period
|
Obverse description
|
|
|
Cr$0.10
|
17 mm
|
1947?1955
|
Portrays
Jose Bonifacio
|
|
|
Cr$0.20
|
19 mm
|
1948?1956
|
Portrays
Ruy Barbosa
|
|
|
Cr$0.50
|
21 mm
|
1948?1956
|
Portrays
Eurico Gaspar Dutra
|
A few more designs were later introduced in 1956 and 1957, which eventually made
aluminium
replace aluminium bronze in all the coins. In 1956, aluminum-bronze coins were issued in the amounts of 50 centavos, 1 cruzeiro and 2 cruzeiros, taking advantage of old aluminum-bronze pieces that were used to issue the 10, 20 and 50 centavos coins respectively. In 1957, such values also began to be issued in aluminum. Coins dated up to 1961 would be minted in such denominations.
Third issue of standard circulating coins of the Cruzeiro (1942?1967)
Reverse
|
Obverse
|
Value
|
Diameter
|
Minting period
|
Obverse description
|
|
|
Cr$0.50
|
17 mm
|
1956
|
Portrays the
coat of arms of Brazil
|
|
|
Cr$1
|
19 mm
|
|
|
Cr$2
|
21 mm
|
|
|
Cr$0.10
|
17 mm
|
1956?1961
|
|
|
Cr$0.20
|
19 mm
|
|
|
Cr$0.50
|
21 mm
|
1957?1961
|
|
|
Cr$1
|
23 mm
|
|
|
Cr$2
|
25 mm
|
In 1964, Law 4511 established the end of the cent and the issuance of coins of Cr$1, Cr$2, Cr$5, Cr$10, Cr$20, Cr$50, Cr$100, Cr$200 and Cr$500, with only coins in the denomination of Cr$10, Cr$20 and Cr$50 came to be launched in 1965.
Such coins lost their value in February 1968, a year after the introduction of the
cruzeiro novo
, having a shorter survival in circulation than the banknotes of equivalent value, not being directly replaced by the equivalent coins of the cruzeiro novo.
Fourth issue of standard circulating coins of the Cruzeiro (1942?1967)
Reverse
|
Obverse
|
Value
|
Diameter
|
Minting period
|
Obverse description
|
|
|
Cr$10
|
23 mm
|
1965
|
Portrays a relief map of Brazil
|
|
|
Cr$20
|
25 mm
|
|
|
Cr$50
|
17 mm
|
Portrays the
effigy of the Republic
|
Banknotes
[
edit
]
The first banknotes were overprints on earlier mil reis notes, with denominations of Cr$5, Cr$10, Cr$20, Cr$50, Cr$100, Cr$200 and Cr$500. Regular issues of cruzeiro banknotes began in 1943 with the addition of Cr$1,000 notes. Cr$1 and Cr$2 notes were introduced in 1944 and ceased production after 1958.
With the exception of the Cr$ 1 banknote, produced only by
American Bank Note Company
, the other banknotes of this standard were issued under a second stamp by
Thomas de la Rue
, bear the mention "2ª estampa" with variations in the color of the obverse of the banknote, with the Cr$ 5 banknotes issued until 1965 and the others (with the exception of the rare Cr$ 200 banknote of the second stamp
[7]
) issued until the entry into circulation of the
cruzeiro novo
.
The first banknotes of the standard were autographed, a custom that continued until the early 1950s, when signatures began to appear on microseals. The "Nota do Indio" and banknotes issued up to the end of the 1950s bear the words "No Tesouro Nacional se pagara ao portador a quantia de" with the value in full followed by the term "Valor recebido" at the end. Banknotes issued in 1960s by the
American Bank Note Company
and
Thomas de la Rue
in amounts from Cr$5 to Cr$5,000 appear only with the terms "Republica dos Estados Unidos do Brasil", "Tesouro Nacional" and "Valor Legal" having the other aforementioned sayings suppressed.
In 1961, the third stamp of the Cr$5 banknote, called "Nota do Indio", would be released experimentally by the
Casa da Moeda do Brasil
. The very limited print run of this banknote issued in the years 1961 and 1962, as well as its low intrinsic value, made this banknote a true souvenir quite collected by numismatists.
In 1962, Law 4190 established that Cruzeiro banknotes would have the words "Republica dos Estados Unidos do Brasil", "Tesouro Nacional" and "Valor Legal" on the obverse of the banknotes and established the issuing of the Cr$5,000 banknote, which was put into circulation in 1963. In December 1964, law 4511 established the end of the centavos, the creation of Cr$1, Cr$2, Cr$5, Cr$10, Cr$20, Cr$50, Cr$100, Cr$200 and Cr$500 coins, as well as the issuing of the Cr$10,000 note, which would become the only banknote of the standard to be issued by the
Central Bank of Brazil
having the title "Banco Central" instead of the title "Tesouro Nacional" present in the other banknotes issued in this monetary standard.
The last banknotes of this standard had an equivalence stamp affixed from 1967 onwards with the corresponding value of the banknote in
Cruzeiros Novos
, being used provisionally in the transition between the banknotes produced abroad to new centavo coins that began to be minted from 1967 and the banknotes that would be produced mainly by
Casa da Moeda do Brasil
from 1970.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Decreto-lei Nº 4.791"
(in Brazilian Portuguese).
Camara dos Deputados
. 5 October 1942
. Retrieved
5 July
2021
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Resolucao Nº 47"
(PDF)
(in Brazilian Portuguese).
Central Bank of Brazil
. 8 February 1967
. Retrieved
5 July
2021
.
- ^
Faber, M. (2012?): "
Historia do Dinheiro no Brasil
" Illustrated slide presentation. Accessed on 2021-08-15.
- ^
(1928): "Editorial No. 1",
Cruzeiro
, dated 1928-12-06. Quote: [O nome
Cruzeiro
] e o da constellacao que, ha milhoes incontaveis de annos, scintila, aparentemente immovel, no ceo austral, e o da nova moeda em que resuscitara a circulacao do ouro." ([The name
Cruzeiro
] is that of the constellation that, since uncountable millions of years, sparkles, apparently motionless, on the Austral sky; and of the new coin in which will be resuscitated the circulation of gold.")
- ^
Grisolio, Lilian Marta (2014): "
Uma revista em guerra: A Revista
O Cruzeiro
nos primeiros anos da Guerra Fria
".
Opsis
, volume 14, special issue, pages 476-494. Accessed on 2021-08-15.
- ^
(1960): Price "Cr$ 15,00" on the
front cover
Archived
2021-08-14 at the
Wayback Machine
of the 1960-05-07 issue of
O Cruzeiro
magazine, reproduced on the
Muzeez
website on 2016-12-105. Accessed on 2021-08-14.
- ^
Only 110 series (11 million) of banknotes were issued with the value of Cr$ 200 on the second stamp of the Cruzeiro, with 3 million (30 series) of banknotes issued being autographed and 8 million (80 series) of banknotes issued with the signatures of Carlos Augusto Carrilho and Sebastiao Paes de Almeida as Director of the Amortization Box and Minister of Finance respectively.
Brazilian cruzeiro
Preceded by:
Brazilian
Real
(old)
Ratio:
Cr$1 = Rs 1$000
|
Currency of Brazil
1 November 1942 – 12 February 1967
|
Succeeded by:
Cruzeiro novo
Ratio:
NCr$1 = Cr$1,000
|