Banknote Database made by collectors, for collectors
Brazil and the busts
May 28, 2023 @ 22:07
Brazil has had a roller coaster of history when it comes to banknotes, and is the world record holder for removing zeroes from consecutive currencies. The country came out with a new currency called the cruzado in 1986, which removed 3 zeroes from the previous currency. In 1989 they released new currency called the cruzado novo and took off 3 zeroes from the earlier money. That lasted less than a year before being replaced with the cruzeiro. They again removed 3 zeroes with the new cruzeiro real, which lasted barely a year. Finally they gave up on the zeroes and replaced that currency with the real at a rate of 2,750 old to 1 new. So from 1930 until today Brazilian currency has lost 18 zeroes. This led to a ton of banknote varieties, and, when the country couldn’t afford to print new ones they just stamped them. New currencies or revaluations usually followed changes in whoever the President was at the time. The actual design of the banknotes marked a huge change for South America in a shift away from military and governmental themes to motifs that the regular Brazilian could relate to. Instead of important and historic statesmen, the designs shifted more and more towards a portrayal of typical people and activities and unfortunately the greater and greater designs directly correlated with the decline of the value of the actual money. This all eventually imploded in 1994.
In 1981, Brazil’s currency the Cruzeiro was designed by Aloísio Sérgio Magalhães and issued in denominations from 1,000 to 5,000. As the re-democratization started to take place, and the situation in Brazil grew into instability new banknotes had to be designed. Three new designs by Álvaro Alves Martins were released in late 1984 from 10,000 to 100,000 Cruzeiros. Sparked by inflation, these three notes were the first on the continent to be deliberately designed without any military imagery. As the country progressed from military dictatorship to democracy, the iconography on the banknotes matched that trend. Today, very little military imagery remains on banknotes on the continent. Countries like Peru have either totally eliminated it, or heavily toned it down. For example, Chile kept many of the same personalities on the notes during a redesign, but made epaulets or medals deliberately smaller. Removing a hat in one instance. Brazil continually spit out new banknotes in the late 80s and 90s. Álvaro Martins and Julio Guimarães were primarily responsible for the new designs, which differed markedly from those of Magalhães. These designers would later be joined by a team made up of other design students from the UFRJ School of Fine Arts and artists Amaury da Silva and Thereza Regina Barca Fidalgo, and Marcelo Myssen in 1989, and Marisa Ferreira da Silva in 1991. Each designer has characteristic traits, but the banknotes produced evolved markedly in design and broke longstanding conventions. There were no borders, each note had a simple white background and included a living focal point on the obverse (except for the allegory of Republica). The reverses were all meant to evoke motion and fluidity. 1993 designs were early adopters of a vertical reverse. The country was at the forefront of computer design in Latin America, the continent’s first digitally produced banknote in came 1992 with the 100,000 cruzeiro note. Guilloche patterns were created using Orchid software on a Silicon Graphics computer, which created an intricate pattern behind the hummingbird motif.
The bust of Republica forms the main motif on every Brazilian banknote. It was copied from a French study on the allegorical Marianne.
The families of the people on the series of banknotes from 1986 to 1994 started out understandably proud but by the end they were demanding the removal of their ancestors due to embarrassment. Some families loudly objected to having their ancestors on worthless money. The famous individuals were replaced by anonymous motifs about various groups of people in Brazilian society. At some point, the country became unable to put actual people on the banknotes just from a psychological perspective. They had to move on to an allegorical figure. Republica, who now graces the front of every Brazilian banknote in circulation. Designer Amaury da Silva in 1994 was given the task of working with a team to design the country’s new currency, the Real. There were just months to do it. The banknotes had to employ a psychological break with anything previous, they could not include people, and animal imagery was employed to avoid any angry families and to save time. The idea came from what Suriname was doing at the same time. Due to the very short design period, they all essentially looked the same on the obverse. Gone was the era of movement and smiles, celebrating the nation. They did what they had to do in order to set the economy in order and that meant, well, boring banknotes. They form a cheapening in design into utilitarianism. The allegorical figure of Republica on each note is taken from a statue belonging to the state, which was copied as an art exercise from a French statue. This has the effect of “denationalizing” the banknotes, something Aloísio Magalhães fought against but predicted.
To highlight this dumbing down, the fish on the back of the 100 reai note was originally intended to be the Brazilian Tucunaré. However, an influential lawmaker enjoyed sport fishing and had it changed to a Grouper. Not a fish totally endemic to Brazil, but a big prize for a fisherman. Brazil updated banknote production facilities in September, 2005. Digital technology took over, which saw all new note designs from that point digitally engraved to a resolution greater than 5,000 dots per inch. In 2010 the second family of real banknotes became the first use of wet offset printing on real banknotes. Prior to that, photolithography had been used. The country has had a tumultuous monetary history, having 8 different currencies since 1942, a result of a boom and bust cycle and inflation. The current one is holding up well, but from a design perspective, isn’t very exciting. Here's a brief look at a selection of 80s and 90s Brazilian banknotes.
The 100 Cruzado Novo note was the first designed by Marcelo Mynssen da Fonseca and the first to have motion and a fluid design incorporated into the engravings. The front features author Cecilia Meireles, famous for her "children's universe" of stories and poems for young people. The note was released in May 1989 and remained in circulation until 1992. A child is shown reading a book and his imagination is coming alive. A sailboat on the ocean is shown in the back, a starry sky and houses in various angles. The highlight are the two dancers at the right. While a still image, it conveys a sense of motion and fluidity.
The 1000 Cruzeiro note was in circulation from May 1990 to September 1994 and features Marechal Cândido Rondon, explorer of the Amazon. The face was designed by Marcelo Mynssen da Fonseca and the reverse by Álvaro Alves Martins. One of Rondon's pioneering telegraph stations is shown surrounded by a map of Brazil and the outline of the rest of South America. Several pieces of telegraph equipment are shown with one, the tape reel, used as a match for the reverse side. The background lines were using electronic means for security with the lower border composed of a headdress worn by the Camaiura Indians. The reverse is a celebration of the Indian tribes of Brazil and has an iconic image of two Carajas Indians engraved by the famous Czesław Słania. In the background are foods like fruit, roots, and fish and a Nhambiquara hut. The background is based on Carajas Indian clay figures and body painting patterns. The elements all fit together very well and imply historical roots and a respect for indigenous cultures.
Brazil's 50,000 Cruzado Reai banknote only circulated during the summer of 1994 and was sort of a last desperate attempt to keep cash circulating before being replaced with the current currency. It was designed by artist Álvaro Alves Martins and engraved by Czesław Słania. This is where the banknotes had gotten to the point that putting any specific people on them would incur consequences from the families of the people they portrayed and the wider public who respected them as national icons. So the Casa da Moeda was forced to design currency with no one in particular on them, in this case it's a Baiana woman. She represents the people of Salvador, Bahia who arrived as African slaves. She's selling African originated recipes on a typical large tray. At the left a large montage of typical Baiana objects like beads and jewelry. Most striking is the microprint background with a repeating pattern of the 7 headwrap styles worn by Baiana women. Underrepresented groups were finally being highlighted on Brazilian banknotes and all of that came to a screeching halt. It had to, the new "Plano Real" specifically set out to create a new currency that was totally different from the past. Brazilian notes have remained more or less the same since, with common iconography but many stylistic and security related updates. At least we got to see some headwraps.
