50 Cruzados

The Cruzado itself was a crisis instrument — introduced in February 1986 under the Plano Cruzado as a direct replacement for the Cruzeiro at 1,000:1, an attempt to break hyperinflation by decree. It didn't hold. The plan collapsed within months, inflation returned with force, and the Cruzado was itself replaced by the Cruzado Novo in 1989 at another 1,000:1 conversion.

Three finance minister pairings across the signature series trace the political churn of the Sarney government's economic management — Funaro, then Bresser Pereira, then Mailson da Nóbrega, each inheriting a worse situation than the last. The Nóbrega series (A2045–A2051) is notably short, implying the denomination was effectively wound down before his tenure had barely begun.