Brazilian cruzeiro

The cruzeiro (Portuguese pronunciation: [kɾuˈzejɾu]) was the currency of Brazil from 1942 to 1986 (two distinct currencies) and again between 1990 and 1993. In 1994 it was replaced with the real. The name refers to the constellation of the Southern Cross, known in Brazil as Cruzeiro do Sul, or simply Cruzeiro. Visible only in the Southern Hemisphere, the Southern Cross is the main astronomical reference to identify the south and is a common cultural icon in Brazilian history.

The first cruzeiro circulated between 1942 and 1967 and had the symbol Cr$ or ₢ (in Unicode U+20A2 ₢ CRUZEIRO SIGN (HTML ₢)). The ₢ sign was the only monetary symbol created specifically for Brazilian currencies: All the others used combinations of uppercase letters (in some cases, uppercase and lowercase) and the cifrão ($), including the current Brazilian real, which uses R$.

Due to economic crisis and severe inflation, a second cruzeiro was issued in 1967 and circulated until 1986. Initially (until 1970) it had the symbol NCr and was named cruzeiro novo (Portuguese for "new cruzeiro"). The name then reverted to cruzeiro and the symbol changed to Cr$ (1970–1986) with the ISO 4217 code BRB. Although the name was restored, the ₢ sign was dropped due to the lack of practical support (rare typewriters offered it, but it was also difficult to find in metal types).

Again after severe economic crisis and repeated currency changes, a third cruzeiro was created in 1990. It reissued the symbol Cr$ and had the ISO 4217 code BRE. All three cruzeiros were subdivided into 100 centavos.

The ₢ sign is still available on the standard Brazilian keyboard layout (ABNT2 keyboard) through the combination AltGr+C but the sign is disused and most people are unaware of it.