Brazilian Cruzeiro Novo
The Brazilian cruzeiro novo was a deliberately temporary 1967 reform currency, using overprinted cruzeiro banknotes to remove three zeros while a new note family was prepared.
Quick Facts
Country: Brazil
Code: BRB
Symbol: NCr$
System: Decimal (1 Cruzeiro Novo = 100 Centavos)
Status: Withdrawn
Issuer: Central Bank of Brazil
The Story of the Brazilian Cruzeiro Novo
The cruzeiro novo became Brazil’s monetary unit on 13 February 1967. Decree-Law No. 1 of 13 November 1965, Decree No. 60,190 of 8 February 1967 and National Monetary Council Resolution No. 47 established the reform. One cruzeiro novo equalled 1,000 old cruzeiros, and the centavo was restored as one hundredth of the new unit.
The standard was explicitly transitional. Instead of waiting for an entirely new banknote family, the Central Bank of Brazil reused notes from the preceding cruzeiro system and applied new value overprints. The official banknote structure extended from 1 centavo to 10 cruzeiros novos, while new centavo coins were created for the reform.
This arrangement allowed prices, accounts and cash handling to adjust immediately to the removal of three zeros. It also left the former denominations and designs visibly present beneath the new monetary values, turning each note into direct evidence of the conversion process.
On 15 May 1970 the unit was renamed cruzeiro at parity: one cruzeiro novo became one cruzeiro. No additional zeros were removed. The 1967–1970 cruzeiro novo should therefore be catalogued separately from both the earlier cruzeiro and the post-1970 cruzeiro, despite the one-to-one transition into the latter.
Design & Symbolism
Cruzeiro-novo banknotes are defined by superimposition rather than by a completely new visual programme. The underlying cruzeiro portraits, inscriptions and reverse scenes remain visible, while the added denomination mark supplies the note’s new legal value.
The official issue drew on notes depicting Getúlio Vargas, Princess Isabel, Pedro II, João VI, Pedro Álvares Cabral, Tiradentes and Santos-Dumont. This carried the preceding system’s historical portrait gallery into the reform without disguising the practical origin of the notes.
The overprints create a deliberate visual tension between continuity and change. Old values and established designs record the monetary system being replaced; the new stamp records the state’s immediate administrative response.
The WorldBanknotes.eu 1-centavo example preserves Getúlio Vargas on the obverse and an industrial allegory on the reverse, with a black circular overprint converting the former 10-cruzeiro note into the lowest paper denomination of the new standard.
For collectors
The cruzeiro novo forms a compact but technically rich collecting field. Notes can be classified by underlying cruzeiro type, overprinted value, signature combination, serial range, inscription variety and printer.
The 10-cruzeiros-novos denomination is especially useful for printer study because official records list issues produced by both the American Bank Note Company and Thomas De La Rue. Lower denominations also reward close comparison of stamp form, position and the retained details of the original note.
The WorldBanknotes.eu 1-centavo P-183b example represents the corrected 1967 form with MINISTRO DA FAZENDA beneath the right signature. Collectors should record both the reform denomination and the underlying note rather than treating the overprint as a minor annotation.
Cruzeiro-novo notes should not be merged with pre-1967 cruzeiro issues or with the cruzeiro restored in 1970. The one-to-one renaming explains the transition, but the legal currency standard and the overprinted banknote programme remain distinct catalogue entities.
Introduced on 13 February 1967 at Cr$1,000 = NCr$1; renamed Cruzeiro on 15 May 1970 at NCr$1 = Cr$1.
