1000 BRZ #75

Front

Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis (1839–1908), Brazil's foremost writer and founder of the Brazilian Academy of Letters. The son of a freed slave and a Portuguese washerwoman, Machado de Assis rose to become one of the greatest novelists in the Portuguese language, author of Dom Casmurro, Memórias Póstumas de Brás Cubas, and other masterworks. His portrait appears alongside excerpts from his writings and the motto 'DEUS SEJA LOUVADO' (God be praised). This note was issued during the Cruzado monetary reform, which attempted to combat Brazil's severe hyperinflation in the 1980s by removing three zeros from the Cruzeiro.

Back

Rua Primeiro de Março (First of March Street) in Rio de Janeiro as it appeared in 1905, showing the historic commercial district with colonial and Belle Époque architecture, street trams, and pedestrians. This street was the financial heart of Rio during Machado de Assis's lifetime and represents Brazil's commercial and cultural development during the late Empire and early Republic. The inscription 'RIO DE JANEIRO - RUA 1ª DE MARÇO EM 1905' identifies the specific view.

History

The Cruzado was introduced on 28 February 1986 as part of the Plano Cruzado economic reform program, replacing the Cruzeiro at a rate of 1 Cruzado = 1,000 Cruzeiros. The plan aimed to halt Brazil's runaway inflation through a price and wage freeze, but ultimately failed. The Cruzado was replaced by the Cruzado Novo in 1989 at a rate of 1,000:1, continuing Brazil's cycle of currency reforms. The 1,000 Cruzados note was one of the higher denominations in this short-lived series, which lasted only three years. Machado de Assis has appeared on various Brazilian banknotes, honoring his status as the nation's greatest literary figure.