10 Cruzeiros 10th Anniversary of Central Bank

Brazil's central bank was established in December 1964 as part of a sweeping monetary reform package under the military government that had seized power eight months earlier. The reform separated the central banking function from the Banco do Brasil, which had previously blended commercial and reserve operations in a arrangement economists had long criticized as a source of chronic inflation.

The anniversary fell during the presidency of Ernesto Geisel, whose government was simultaneously managing the fiscal shock of the 1973 oil crisis — an uncomfortable backdrop for a commemorative coin celebrating institutional monetary credibility.