Brazil's 1967 monetary reform replaced the cruzeiro with the cruzeiro novo at a rate of 1,000 to 1, creating an entirely new denomination structure — including this lowest unit, worth one-thousandth of the new currency. The stainless steel composition was a deliberate cost-containment measure, as Brazil's military government was managing serious inflationary pressure even as it launched the reform.
The two catalog variants (KM#575.1 and .2) reflect a die modification made during the run, a minor but documentable change that splits collectors between date ranges.
Brazil's 1967 monetary reform replaced the cruzeiro with the cruzeiro novo at a rate of 1,000 to 1, creating an entirely new denomination structure — including this lowest unit, worth one-thousandth of the new currency. The stainless steel composition was a deliberate cost-containment measure, as Brazil's military government was managing serious inflationary pressure even as it launched the reform.
The two catalog variants (KM#575.1 and .2) reflect a die modification made during the run, a minor but documentable change that splits collectors between date ranges.