In today’s post, you will learn everything you need to know about Brazilian Reais, the official currency of Brazil after having changed it around 8 times in the last 50 years. Read on and get familiar with one of the most important non-european currencies.
The history of Brazilian reais
Although considered today among the world’s top traded currencies, the Brazilian Real wasn’t introduced until 1994. The multiple economic problems the country faced during different decades lead to the creation and implementation of the Plano Real, a set of reforms introduced to encourage economic stability. The Plano Real responded to two main issues: problems of fiscal policy and intense inertial inflation.
Within the Plano Real, the cruzeiro real was replaced by a new currency, the Brazilian real. Affected by foreign inversion, it gained value against the US dollar but the Central Bank of Brazil depreciate it in a controlled way.
Although the value of the real continued fluctuating among the years, it regained a steady position during Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s government and has increasingly become an important coin within the foreign currency exchange market. In 2016, the Triennial Central Bank survey declared the Brazilian real as the nineteenth most traded currency in the world.
The Brazilian currency is one of the most important ones in Latin America since this country represents 47% of South American territory. Unfortunately, due to the current situation, the Brazilian real has reached its lowest depreciation rate: in just one week, the value of the real against the dollar passed from 4.78 to 5.22.
Although this is a disadvantage for many people, economists assert this is an opportunity for entrepreneurs to improve their competitiveness and export their products. This also symbolizes a chance for foreigners to get a better exchange rate for their American dollars, euros, Canadian dollars, Peruvian soles, and other currencies that have not been heavily devalued. Click here to have a more accurate idea of the current value of the reais in comparison to other coins.
A brief history of money, amazing currency facts and your cheat sheet to all things currency related.
What does Brazil’s currency look like?
Coins were originally made of stainless steel; now, they have a stainless steel center and a bronze coated steel ring. They are worth 1 cent, 5 cents, 10 cents, 25 cents, 50 cents and 1 real. If you want to find Brazilian coins, visit our website.
Brazilian Coins
1 cent
5 cents
10 cents
25 cents
50 cents
1 real
Brazilian Banknotes
Brazilian banknotes are produced in series of 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 reais. Each denomination has the picture of a woman with a crown of bay leaves on her head on one side and the image of a representative animal that belongs to the Brazilian jungle on the other. Foreign Currency & Coin Exchange has every single one of the Brazilian reais banknotes issued, search for them on our page.
2 reais
5 reais
10 reais
20 reais
50 reais
100 reais
Now you understand how Brazilian money works. If you want to convert your USD to Brazilian reais, do it from home using our website. No matter in what part of the world you are, you can convert any currency easily and using any device. We offer stable rates, convenience, and guaranteed security.
