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real, monetary unit of Brazil. Each real (plural: reais) is divided into 100 centavos. The Central Bank of Brazil (Banco Central do Brasil) has the exclusive authority to issue banknotes and coins in Brazil. Coins are issued in denominations ranging from 1 centavo to 1 real. Banknotes are valued from 1 to 100 reais. The obverse of each banknote pictures a sculpture symbolizing the republic, with the exception of the 10-real note, which contains an image of Pedro Álvares Cabral, a Portuguese navigator who is considered to have been the first European to explore Brazil; the reverse sides are adorned with images of wildlife, including the crane (5-real note), the arara bird (10-real note), and the leopard (50-real note).
In the 20th century, largely because of inflationary pressures, Brazil was forced to make many changes in its monetary system. From the colonial period through 1942, Brazil’s monetary system was based on the reís, derived from the Portuguese real, which was the Portuguese currency in the 15th and 16th centuries. In 1942 the reís was replaced by the cruzeiro. After several additional changes in the monetary system, the cruzado was established in the mid-1980s, though further economic instability led to its eventual demise. Further monetary systems were created and abolished until 1994, when the real was established, replacing its short-lived predecessor, the cruzeiro real (1993–94).
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