5 Cruzeiros

Brazil's early 1980s cruzeiro coinage existed against the backdrop of one of the most destructive inflation cycles in modern economic history. By 1984, annual inflation was approaching 200%, and coins of this denomination were losing purchasing power faster than the mint could replace worn stock. The cruzeiro itself would be abolished in 1986 when the Sarney government introduced the cruzado, lopping three zeros off the currency in a stabilization attempt that lasted less than two years.

Stainless steel was adopted partly to deter the melting that plagued earlier issues in other metals.