Brazilian cruzeiro (1942–1967)
The (first) cruzeiro (Cr$ or C$) was the official currency of Brazil from 1942 to 1967. It replaced the old real (pl. réis), 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.
Example of a Cr$5 note of 1963 of the 2nd print, portraying the bust of Barão do Rio Branco on the obverse | |
| ISO 4217 | |
|---|---|
| Code | None |
| Unit | |
| Unit | cruzeiro |
| Plural | cruzeiros |
| Symbol | Cr$ (also
|
| Denominations | |
| 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 |
| Demographics | |
| Date of introduction | 1 November 1942 |
| Replaced | Real |
| Date of withdrawal | 13 February 1967 |
| Replaced by | Cruzeiro novo |
| User(s) | Brazil |
| Issuance | |
| Printer | American Bank Note Company (1st print) Thomas de la Rue (2nd print) Casa da Moeda do Brasil (3rd print) |
| Valuation | |
| Value |
Cr$5 (3rd print) |
| This infobox shows the latest status before this currency was rendered obsolete. | |
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-réis) 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-réis) without linked to the gold standard, which changed the situation by making coins below 10 centavos not exist in this monetary standard.