10 Reais Pedro Álvares Cabral

Issued specifically to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Portuguese arrival in Brazil, this note was the Banco Central do Brasil's first polymer issue — Casa da Moeda do Brasil printing on Guardian substrate rather than cotton paper. The transition was not seamless: early production runs showed adhesion problems with the intaglio ink layers, a known technical complaint with the series that collectors should examine closely on any example.

The commemorative mandate gave it a fixed lifespan. Most were pulled from circulation well before the polymer wore out, which is why heavily circulated survivors are genuinely harder to find than uncirculated ones.