1 Conto de Réis Caixa de Conversão, 1st. Print

The Caixa de Conversão was established in 1906 as part of Finance Minister Leopoldo de Bulhões's stabilization program — a currency board mechanism designed to peg the milréis to gold at a fixed rate and restore confidence after years of inflationary disorder following the Encilhamento crisis of the early 1890s. The institution could only issue notes against gold deposits, a strict convertibility rule that gave these notes a fundamentally different character from the Treasury paper circulating alongside them.

Joh. Enschedé en Zonen of Haarlem were among the most technically accomplished security printers in Europe at the time, and their work on this series reflects that. The 1 conto denomination — one million réis — was not everyday pocket money; at that value, these notes moved between banks and commercial houses rather than through ordinary retail trade.

The Caixa de Conversão was suspended in 1914 when gold convertibility became untenable at the outbreak of the First World War.