1 Real 1st. Family, Watermark 'Flag'

The 1 Real note entered circulation in 1994 as the anchor denomination of the Plano Real — the stabilization program that finally broke Brazil's hyperinflationary cycle after years of failed predecessors including the Cruzado and Collor plans. Pedro Sampaio Malan served as Finance Minister across all but the final signature pairing, an unusual span of continuity for a country that had cycled through monetary regimes with exhausting frequency in the preceding decade.

The flag watermark variant distinguishes this family from later printings. Series C3383B onward carries the Palocci-Meirelles signatures, reflecting the handover to the Lula administration in January 2003 — making those later prefixes the transition issues between two very different economic governments.