Here's a very common (and inexpensive for collectors) banknote from Brazil. It was printed by Casa da Moeda do Brasil (Brazil Mint). My example features the signatures of Ernane Galvêas (President of the National Monetary Council) and Carlos Geraldo Langoni (President of the Central Bank of Brazil); earlier runs (1972, 1975) of the note had different signatures in line with those in office at the time.
I'm not a collector of Brazil's notes, but I purchased this note years back for an exhibit of coins and banknotes featuring images of
Liberty that I put together for the American Numismatic Association's National Coin Week celebration; it was displayed at an open-to-the-public event.
Overall, the note is green, though yellow and purple can also be seen in the note's intricate scrollwork.
At right, on the note's front, is seen a left-facing allegorical figure of
Liberty (wearing a phrygian cap) which is meant to be a personification of the Federative Republic of Brazil; the figure is presented on a circular medallion filled with a dark-to-light (left to right) green gradient. The note's One Cruzeiro denomination is found at left and upper right corner via a "1" superimposed on intricate scrollwork.
The note's Designer is listed by the Central Bank as Aloísio Sergio Barbosa de Magalhães; its Engraver was Benedicto Ribeiro. The pair were also responsible for the design of the note's back.
The inscriptions on the front of the note translate as follows:
- BANCO CENTRAL DO BRASIL = THE CENTRAL BANK OF BRAZIL
- UM CRUZEIRO = ONE CRUZEIRO (Brazilian Currency Unit)
- PRESIDENTE CONSELHO MONETÁRIO = PRESIDENT/CHAIRMAN MONETARY COUNCIL
- PRESIDENTE BANCO CENTRAL = CENTRAL BANK PRESIDENT Bank
The note's reverse depicts the office building of Brazil's Amortization Office (at left) in a circular green medallion. Per the web site of the Central Bank of Brazil, the purpose of the Amortization Office "was to pay back the capital and interest of any lawfully issued public debt securities, and also to inspect the transfer deals among paper holders." For a time, the building also housed employees of the Central Bank. A large "1" is seen at the right on an ornate scrollwork design.
The inscriptions on the back of the note translate as follows:
- BANCO CENTRAL DO BRASIL = THE CENTRAL BANK OF BRAZIL
- UM CRUZEIRO = ONE CRUZEIRO (Brazilian Currency Unit)
The light colored area with green vertical lines (visible on the front and back of the note) features multiple reproductions of the allegorical personification portrait seen at the right on the front of the note. The portraits are presented as repeating watermarks (whole and partial). In contrast to the regular portrait, the watermark portraits are right-facing (when viewed from the front).
"UM" is seen at the bottom of the light area on both sides of the note - it trasnlates as "ONE".
I find the note's design to be attractive in a traditional design sense with reasonable security for its time (1970s-80s). I'm glad I picked it up for my exhibit.
1980 Brazil Um Cruzeiro Note - Front
1980 Brazil Um Cruzeiro Note - Back
For more of my stories about commemorative coins and medals, plus other currency stories, see:
Commems Collection.
Posted 10/14/2024 11:20 am
