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1 Centavo Cowboy

Issuer Banco Central do Brasil
Year 1989-1990
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Diameter 16.5 mm
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Obverse script Latin
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Reverse description The reverse depicts a stylised scene of a Brazilian cowboy (vaqueiro) seated astride two stylised long-horned cattle rendered in a bold, graphic folk-art style. The cowboy figure, wearing a broad-brimmed hat, is positioned centrally between the two symmetrically arranged cattle whose curved horns frame the composition. Wavy lines beneath the animals suggest ground or water. The date appears in the lower exergue.
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Additional information

The "Cowboy" nickname stuck because of the lasso motif, but the coin's real story is monetary chaos. Brazil cycled through six different currencies between 1942 and 1994, and this stainless steel centavo arrived mid-crisis, during a period when the cruzado novo was losing value faster than the mint could adjust denominations. The Plano Verão of January 1989 had just lopped three zeroes off the old cruzado, creating the cruzado novo — and this piece is one of its smallest subdivisions, rendered almost worthless within months of issue.

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