500 Cruzeiros

Brazil's monetary system was in freefall by the early 1990s. The cruzeiro had replaced the cruzado novo in 1990 under the Collor government, itself a desperate redenomination after the cruzado plan collapsed — and by 1992 inflation was running above 1,000% annually, which meant a 500-cruzeiro coin was worth a fraction of a U.S. cent within months of issue. The cruzeiro itself was abolished in 1993 and replaced by the cruzeiro real, making this one of the final denominations struck before yet another round of monetary surgery.