82 star representing the capital of the Republic. On the obverse, each one features the representation of Brazilian characters such as the cowboy, the fisherman, the gold prospector, and the embroidery weaver. Pg. 59 CENTENARY OF THE REPUBLIC In the brief existence of the cruzado novo, there was only one commemorative coin. Minted in silver, the piece of 200 cruzados novos celebrated the centenary of the republic. FIVE HUNDRED YEARS The commemorative coin of the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America was minted in 1992, showing on the obverse the representation of the ocean, a compass rose and the Santa Maria ship - Christopher Columbus’ ship when he discovered the continent - and the legend Encontro de dois mundos (Meeting of two worlds) - 1492-1992. On the reverse, the national coat-of-arms and emblems of the other countries that issued the piece. Pg. 60 TIRADENTES Joaquim José da Silva Xavier, Tiradentes, was one of the main icons of Inconfidência Mineira, a movement against Portuguese control. The coin, minted in 1992, celebrated the bicentennial of the national hero’s death, bearing the effigy of Tiradentes on the obverse and a rope without a noose on the reverse, symbolizing the fulfillment of his sentence: death by hanging. Cruzeiro (Cr$) From 1990 to 1993 With the new change in the Brazilian monetary standard, new coins were minted in the values of one, five, 10 and 50 cents. On the reverse side is the value of the piece and the inscription of the word Brasil. On the obverse, in addition to the date, the coins feature the following Brazilian representations respectively: the flag with the Southern Cross constellation; the figure of a salt field worker; the figure of a rubber tapper; and the figure of a Baiana (typical woman from the state of Bahia). Coins of 100, 500 and 1,000 cruzeiros were minted depicting a manatee, a sea turtle and two fish, respectively. The equivalence between the cruzeiro and the novo cruzado was one-to-one. Cruzeiro Real (CR$) From 1993 to 1994 In 1993, inflation reached the incredible rate of 2,477.15% (National Extended Consumer Price Index - IPCA). One of the attempts to contain it was the creation of the cruzeiro real in August of that year. It was equivalent to a thousand cruzeiros. To replace the old cruzeiro banknotes, coins of five and 10 cruzeiros reais were released, depicting two macaws and an anteater, respectively. Then the 50 and 100 cruzeiro real coins were launched, featuring an onça and a maned wolf. The name of the monetary standard was not engraved, this time it was replaced by the cruzeiro real symbol, CR$. Real (R$) From 1994 to date The ongoing high inflation of the 1980s worsened in the early 1990s with monthly inflation rates surpassing 80%. That was when the Plano Real (Real Plan) was implemented as a way of stabilizing the Brazilian economy. The reform was profound, the largest ever in Brazilian history, and it was divided in three phases: the adjustment of public accounts through budget cuts, the implementation of the Real Value Unit (URV) to deindex the economy and the transformation of URV into Real, the new Brazilian currency. Linked to the US dollar, the URV was essential to the success of the measure. It worked as a virtual currency of transition. In retail stores, the values were remarked into URVs and at the checkout the price was converted from the value in URV and paid in cruzeiro real. The real amounted to 2,750 cruzeiros reais or one dollar. After that, the first family of real coins came about, made of stainless steel. The coins of one, five,10 and 50 cents and one real were the same, only changing its values on the reverse, which also had the value, the date and stylized laurel branches. On the obverse, the effigy of the Republic, the word Brasil and stylized laurel branches. The 25 cent coins had the same obverse and reverse as the others, but draw special attention to their seven-sided polygonal shape. THE END OF HYPERINFLATION The words of journalist and sociologist Joelmir Beting at the time the real Plan was launched became famous and are still remembered today as a synthesis of the hyperinflationary crisis that the country experienced. he stated: “here lies the currency that accumulated an inflation of 1.1 quadrillion percent in the period from July 1965 to June 1994. Yes, a 16-digit inflation for three decades. Or more precisely, an IGP-DI of 1,142,332,741,811,850%. Can you memorize it? We lost track of it because we had four monetary reforms in the period and in each one of them we deleted three digits from the national currency. A total discard of 12 digits in the period. A unique case in the world since the German hyperinflation in the 1920s.” Pg. 61 ECO-92 The coin commemorates the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, also known as ECO-92. The event was held in Rio de January to discuss global challenges in preserving the environment The second family of the real came about in the late 90s. The pieces of one and five cents, made of copper-clad steel, bear the same reverse: value, date, and allusion to the national flag. On the obverse, the former features the image of Portuguese Pedro Álvares