Silver rush

Ever since the coin show, I’ve been devoting my considerable resources toward obtaining silver coins. There are some real bargains out there if you know where to look and what to look for. Not too many people know that Mexican 10, 20 and 50 New Peso coins were struck with a sterling silver center, containing .17, .25 and .5 ounces of silver, respectively. There is little distinction, too, between the coins containing silver, and those that do not. Only after the ‘New’ label came off of the name of the currency, was silver replaced with base metals.

Other really good deals have surfaced on eBay as well. I recently obtained an uncirculated Bahamas $1 coin dated 1966. Not only is this worth a considerable amount in melt value, but it also holds a decent numismatic value. Its worth is probably around $11 or $12, but the silver it contains is worth nearly $15. Not a bad appreciation, since I only paid $5 for it.

Of course, my favorite and most coveted silver coin remains the bullion ‘Wiener Philharmoniker’ 1oz, 1.50 euro. There still remains a spot in my heart for vintage American silver coins, but they’re always so old and dingy. The newer, foreign coins are far more illustrious. The Canadian Maple Leaf coins are also nice to look at, as are the British sovereigns.

I would love to expand my silver collection to include Dutch 5 euro coins, but there is absolutely no reliable supply of them on the internet. Perhaps I’ll have some luck visiting a local dealer.

The price of silver has been coming down rather quickly these last few days. It is presently trading at $28.85/oz- an eleven month low.

Canadian 60th Anniversary of VE-Day

As I mentioned before, this beautiful and nicely arranged commemorative issue contains a sterling silver reproduction of the 1945 5-cent coin, complete with King George VI on the front. The set also features a bronze medallion. Both are inside of a tin, with great inserts.

The problem is that it came shrink wrapped and I desperately want to open it and see these treasures with my own eyes. The only reason I know that the inserts are nicely done is because I saw the picture of them from the person I bought the set from on eBay.

I’m not sure what merits may lie in keeping the shrink wrap intact. To be sure, original packaging is oh so important for collectibles such as action figures and PEZ dispensers. But what about a commemorative coin issue? Can there be any harm or loss in value from merely opening the container?

As long as the coin and medallion remain in whatever protective casing they’re in, the value shouldn’t be diminished at all. Naturally, there is a cardboard sleeve around the tin, which adds a very catching element to the packaging overall.

Besides all that, there are already tears in the shrink wrap. None so much that it looks anything less than pristine, but isn’t any value added by virtue of shrink wrap diminished with the tearing of said shrink wrap?

If the set is kept nicely and the sleeve is intact, does the value change without the shrink wrap?

I’m guessing no and will open it regardless so that my curiosity will finally be satiated.

Foreign Mint Sets

One of the easiest and quickest way to diversify one’s coin collection is to buy foreign mint sets or foreign commemorative folders. If you can get there fast enough, many of the national mints won’t charge the kinds of overhead that is always expected when purchasing from a dealer or over the internet. Several European national mints do not engage in price gouging. Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Spain, Italy, France and Finland do not charge very substantial fees for providing commemorative or mint sets as products available over the internet. The highest cost is for shipping.

At the AMA coin show here in Pittsburgh, there was such an abundance of US mint sets and proof sets, they were practically giving them away. You could walk out of there with the entire run of both types for the 1980s for just under $50, the 1990s for around $60 (because of the 1999 issue of the first state quarters). I saw a dealer selling a run of 2000s, plus the 1999 set for $90. That’s eleven years worth of US standard issue circulation coins- which includes state quarters and the bicentennial Lincoln cent issues- for $90. That’s $8 per year for a P and D uncirculated set and the S proof set. If that dealer accepted Visa, I may well have been the owner of such a run. The reason behind this saturation was the bad economy. Everyone who had a collection was selling it. Keep in mind, these poor souls paid at least $15 for the proof sets and at least $12 for the mint sets for each year. The high rates of production, coupled with easy market access, does not make US base metal mint or proof sets worth investing in.

The much lower rate of production and relative market distance allows foreign mint and proof sets far more safe as an investment for a coin collection. Canadian sets are very easy for anyone in the US to obtain and can be done so with a very low cost of shipping. The Royal Canadian Mint has obviously realized the lucrative nature of the low production for one-of-a-kind type coins and coin sets, as they have recently begun offering very specialized, highly desirable sets that might include a special ‘Loonie’ ($1 coin) or ‘Toonie’ ($2 coin). Such ‘specimen sets’ have included the special $2 coin, featuring a Lynx cat in place of the regular polar bear, and the Spotted Owl $1 coin. both of these were offered in a special collectors folder and production quantities were each limited to just about 15,000. They both contained the regular series of coins, from the 1 cent coin all the way up to and including the $2 coin. The normal issue $1 or $2 coins would then be replaced by the commemorative issue. The standard coins alongside the commemoratives in these sets usually feature highly specialized textures.

RCM also offers a wide range of lower denominated commemorative coins, such as the 5 cent Veterans coin and the 10 cent Volunteer coin. You’ll even find some of these in general circulation. Nearly every year for the past fifteen, RCM has issued at least one commemorative 25 cent coin. For the years 1999 and 2000, a series of twelve such commemorative quarters were issued each year. The 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics provided the perfect opportunity for RCM to issue a total of 30 commemorative coins in both the 25 cent and $1 denominations.

My own collection has recently gained one such commemorative folder- that of the 2001 Year of the Volunteer commemorative 10 cent coin. It is sealed in plastic and I can barely make out the reverse commemorative design. I also added a very special commemorative to my collection in the form of the 2005 60th anniversary of victory in Europe re-issue 5 cent commemorative, with the Victory design on the reverse. The obverse features the same head of King George VI as did the 1943-1945 issues 60 years before. It comes in a tin, with a very nice insert and is accompanied by a large bronze medal weighing 26.4g. The 5 cent coin is sterling silver and weighs 5.35g. I pain just under $10 (CAD$10) for this issue and shipping was free.

This is just the type of issue that is not only inexpensive, but will likely appreciate quite a bit in a short amount of time. This issue was sold for around CAD$5 just about six years ago. Compare this 100% rise in value with the mere 15% rise in value a 2005 Marine Corps US Silver dollar issue carries. The Canadian commemorative was limited to a 60k production run, while the US produced nearly ten times that amount- 600k for its commemorative issue.

Add to that the effect of direct shipments and pre-orders that the US Mint allows for each of its issues to the effect of low and slow appreciation values for US silver commemorative issues. With few exceptions, US commemorative coins, while plentiful and abundant, don’t offer the same kind of investment value that other national mint issues have.

Coin shortage in Kenya

This was an interesting story I happened across while looking for videos on You Tube for my school’s final project. It seems that close to 2 billion Kenyan Shillings worth of coins are being kept by citizens in Kenya. Late in June of this year, the Central Bank of Kenya began a campaign to bring the coins back into circulation. They called it ‘coin week’ and it is hoped to halve the amount of coins being kept by the population.

Most of the interviewees for the story said that shops no longer accept the 50 cent coin, because of its low value. In fact, instead of giving out a 50 cent coin in change, some shops are substituting the coin for a piece of candy. Some banks do not accept coins in deposits and others charge fees for taking coins.

From the time of independence in 1963, Kenya has been using the Shilling as its currency, which is made up of 100 cents. Since about 1991, Kenyan sub-unit denominated coins have been made of plated steel. Since 1995, the 50 cent coin was the highest Shilling sub-unit coin in production. The highest denomination presently produced is the 40 Shilling coin, which makes the 50 cent coin 1/80 of the highest circulation coin- not quite as small as the US Lincoln cent, but still pretty small.

It takes about 91 Kenyan Shillings to equal $1 US.  Therefore, the Kenyan 50 cent coin is worth about a half cent. However, according to many of the comments on the You Tube video, there are still plenty of things one can buy with 50 cents- probably just a piece of candy.

Coins as Jewelry

Cha-Ching is a Pittsburgh-based business whose proprietor specializes in converting typical coins into various forms of jewelry. We found her table at the city’s central street market. The majority of pieces were earrings, bracelets and necklaces- the central focal point of each is a coin with most accompanied by beads or metal rings, etc.

While I take certain issue with the method of piercing coins with a hole in order to string a chain or rope through it, the practice is an excellent way to appreciate coins from a non-collector point of view. As long as the coin will always be used as jewelry, the value of the coin is actually quite high compared with the numismatic value of it.

When she found out that I have tons of extra coins that she might be interested in, she wrote her email address on her card and asked me to get in touch with her and suggested that if there was something that we were interested in, perhaps the value of the coins that she might want out of my collection could be put toward a purchase. Of course my better half was very excited- as there were no Dutch coins there, and I have several hundred that could easily be made into a bracelet.

Last night, I enlisted the better half to suggest which coins might make good candidates for jewelry. Most of the ones she picked had flowers or birds on them. I’m including the new US ‘shield’ pennies, of which I have several hundred. The older Singapore coins, with sea-animals are some of my favorite and I have a hard time parting with them, but at least I have several more in my collection.

The owner of Cha-Ching, Suzy, is meeting us tonight to evaluate our picks. Hopefully, out of the three pounds of coins, there is enough to equal the price of a nice bracelet made of Dutch coins, plus some left over.

Her business website is something that can’t be missed: http://www.chachingcoinjewelry.com

The Man Who Could Stop the Mint

This is a great story from PCGS website:

Bill Dickerson - March 14, 2011

Throughout the years, many interesting tales filled with history and romance have been linked to coins of the United States. One of the most notable is the one about Josh Tatum, who single-handedly caused the Mint to stop production of the nickel. The following story contains the facts surrounding what took place at that time.

In 1883, the Mint changed the design of the five cent piece. In doing so, it unknowingly presented a great opportunity to an "enterprising" young man by the name of Josh Tatum.

Mr. Tatum noticed that the new nickel was about the same size as the five dollar gold coin. He also realized that there was nothing on the coin to denote what the denomination was. The coin, which was originally named the Liberty nickel, would soon become known as the "V" nickel due to the fact that a large Roman numeral for "five" was stamped on the reverse of the coin. Young Tatum must have really become excited when he realized the potential our newest coin offered. He went right to work and struck up a partnership with a friend who was skilled in the art of electroplating over base metal. Using a 24-carat gold electroplate, they were able to convert many thousands of the new five-cent pieces into what appeared to be five-dollar gold coins.

The stage was set, and being a man of action, Josh was off and running. He went from town to town, hitting every store he could find, purchasing five-cent items. Each time he would lay down one of the newly-created "five dollar gold coins," the clerk would respond by returning $4.95 change. This was apparently a very profitable business, but as the saying goes, "All good things must come to an end," and Tatum's venture was no exception. After it was finally realized that the five dollar gold coins were only nickels, Josh was quickly apprehended and prosecuted for his crime.

A very strange thing happened in court. Tatum was acquitted of the major charge because none of the witnesses would or even could admit that he actually told them the coins were five dollar gold pieces. You see, he couldn't! Josh Tatum was a deaf mute and was unable to say anything. All he ever did was put the coins on the counter and accept, in return, the purchased five cent items and a gift of $4.95, the "change" which he happily accepted.

Tatum's efforts prompted the government to immediately suspend the minting of the new nickel and change the die to include the word "cents" under the Roman numeral "V" on the coin's reverse. By the way, many of the original electroplated coins created by Josh Tatum are still available, and many coin dealers sell what has become known as the "Racketeer" nickel, ironically for a price of $4.95.

Portrait of a Queen

Since her coronation in 1953, Queen Elizabeth II has appeared on British coinage and the coinage of the countries of which she is Head of State. The portrait is updated to reflect the Queen’s age and change in appearance. Four different effigies have been used on British coins and those of most other countries in the realm or commonwealth.

The Mary Gillick portrait was largely in use from 1953 until decimalization in Britain and Australia and roughly 1965 in most other countries such as Canada. It is one of only two portraits in regular use on coins that does not feature a crown.

Cecil Thomas designed a ‘realm portrait’ which is similar in nature and appears in the same context as that of George VI who was king before and father to Queen Elizabeth II. They bear the same crown and most of the designs of the British and realm coinage didn’t change- as is normal custom.

Arnold Machin provided the second common portrait of the Queen- this one with a crown. This was in use on all British, Australian, New Zealand ‘new’ decimal coins and in Canada. This was the most widely used portrait in all British Territorial coinage issuing bodies around the world to date. Unlike the other three common portraits, there was no variation on this portrait in any part of the Commonwealth.

Machin’s portrait is said to be a favorite of the Queen herself. When approached to pose for an updated portrait, she was most concerned about the quality of the new portrait not living up to the standards of Machin’s work.

The Machin portrait also has the distinction of longevity over the other three common portraits. It was in use for nineteen years (five more than the common portrait in use at present, as of 2011).

The third portrait comes from Raphael Maklouf and began roughly the same time everywhere between 1985 and 1986. There is a variation on the common design of the third portrait used in Britain for parts of the Commonwealth and territories; otherwise, this portrait was universal to coinage bearing the Queen’s effigy.

Canada began using a portrait designed by Dora de Pedery-Hunt in 1990. It is similar to Maklouf’s in design, but differs in orientation of the monarch. Side-by-side comparisons reveal the difference.

Maklouf era ‘realm portrait’ used for a number of commonwealth coin portraits. It replaced the Machin portrait.

The fourth and presently used effigy is the work of Ian Rank-Broadly, which has been in use on British coins since 1998. This portrait represents the first and only occurance of the designer’s initials appearing outside and separate from the effigy itself.

Canada began using a portrait similar to the Maklouf by Dora dePedery-Hunt in 1990.

In 2003, a new portrait was commissioned in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Queen’s coronation. It is by Susanna Blunt and is in use presently, but is unique to Canada. One of the more noticeable difference, aside from the actual portrait is that the Queen does not bear a crown- unlike any other presently used portrait in the world.

There are a couple variations on the present Rank-Broadly design, but none are common to circulation coins. This portrait (right) is used on a small number of commonwealth coins, including Cook Islands.

Not all of the coins bearing the effigy of Elizabeth II have changed their portraits to reflect the age of the Queen. Maundy money in Britain still retains the first Gillick portrait. Belize uses the Cecil Thomas ‘realm portrait’ on fractional coins and the Maklouf portrait on the one dollar coin.

A few coin portraits of the Queen exist on an individual basis- appearing on only one coin or one denomination- separate from the typical circulation coins:

	New Zealand issued a one dollar coin between 1979 and 1982 with such an irregular portrait. Each of the four coins have a separate portrait of the Queen from the other circulation coins issued in New Zealand during this time. This departure from the normal portrait was to commemorate the Royal Visit. The coins issued just before (1978) and just after (1983) these four, carry the Machin portrait.
	Australia issued an irregular portrait on the occasion of the Queen’s visit in 2000 on the 50-cent coin. Vladimir Gotwald was the designer of this portrait and it was one of the finalists for the 1998 update to the Queen’s effigy.
	For the duel purposes of increasing circulation and popularity of the Canadian 50-cent coin, and to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Queen’s coronation, Canada used a variation on the Cecil Thomas realm portrait. This portrait was only used in 2003 and circulated along side the new Canadian portrait of 2003.
	Gibraltar produced coins with a Maklouf variation in 2004 to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the territory’s capture. This portrait was used for four years. The coins issued just before (2003) and just after (2008) the four-year commemoration, carry the Rank-Broadly portrait.
	A 2003 British five pound coin bore this portrait in honor of 50 years as Queen.

In 2008 and 2009, the isolated South Atlantic British Territory constituent of Tristan da Cunha which is part of the territories St. Helena and Ascension Island, issued coins bearing unique portraits of the Queen; a different portrait in both years. The denominations of the issue are 1/2p, 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p and 25p.

2008 Tristan da Cunha portrait	2009 Tristan da Cunha portrait

The Gillick and Maklouf portraits each lasted twelve years. The present portrait has been in use (as of 2011) for fourteen years. Given the upcoming 60th anniversary of her reign, it is reasonable to assume that a new portrait may be forthcoming.

During the course of the historic reign of Elizabeth II, the number of countries producing coins bearing her image decreased sharply. None of the coins that bear her portrait today are produced for circulation in precious metal. The last of these coins were mostly debased by 1965, with a few larger denominations, made in part of silver, existing only a few more years. In fact, the coins produced today represent the lowest intrinsic value in history with steel as the primary metal in content.

At one point, just over half the coins in production for circulation were made of silver. Now, only commemorative coins and special editions are silver.

Caveat emptor

A recent winning bid on eBay was from a seller who claimed to have bought an 85-pound bin of estate coins and then split it into 5-pound bags. My bid was for one of the 5-pound bags, but imagine my disappointment when I got the package and found nothing but corroded, badly damaged bits of metal. Based on the smell and the pattern of destruction wrought on these coins, I can only guess that they had been in a fire and sustained direct contact with large quantities of water or other fire suppression material.

The reason that I went so high in my bidding in the first place, was because usually coin lots with a story like this one have some really good finds in them. Also, the description hinted at a good possibility of some silver pieces.

The real disappointment is the fact that the coins that were in the haul were really good ones. Luckily, the seller agreed to give me a refund (including shipping), so I’m sending the haul back- silver pieces and all- with my best wishes.

Vintage Hauls

Another treasure hunter’s dream courtesy of eBay. The first came in the form of a golfing themed humidor stuffed with coins and tokens. These were first rate vintage coins, too- well, first rate for me! About a dozen or so half-penny coins from all over the British Empire were in just my first handful. In all, about 6 silver pieces and a super special 1973 date set from Greece. Along with about a dozen or so Chinese cash and bronze ‘dollar’ coins, a few German-Occupied Netherlands coins were mixed in with the bunch, too. A few Weimar Republic new year tokens turned up, and quite a handful of Nurnberg Classic Car show coins dated from 1960.

The second haul was a simple 1lb bag of mixed world coins. This was a big surprise. I found four Soviet 1 ruble commemorative coins in the mix. A Mexican date set was also in there from 1994- including the 2 and 5 new peso coins. A few older British coins and quite a few German-Occupied French coins were in the mix as well.

After about a week or so, I finally managed to find the time to start sorting through all of them, but it led to two whole weeks of coin therapy.

So many pennies

At long last, I made it to the bank and obtained $20 in pennies. That’s 2000. Naturally, there wasn’t a seat on the bus I took home, so I had to stand with the pennies weighing down me and my backpack. My journey home was made extra long, when our bus happened upon an accident at a crucial intersection, which caused a long detour. Finally, I made it home.

Soon enough I was at my desk, sorting roll after roll. Of course, my goal was to find copper pennies, but I wouldn’t have objected to keeping bi-centennial 2009 pennies or steel pennies, though I knew finding either was a long shot.

After looking at all 2000 dates, I found 4 wheaties, 8 Canadian, 9 bicentennials, 50 shiny new 2010s and a grand total of 713 pennies dated 1959-1982. I imagine it will be quite easy to determine which 1982 examples are zinc and which are copper- the newer zinc coins weighed less than the copper.

155 pennies composed of 95% copper make up a full pound of copper. At current market value (as of 13 Jan 2011) the price for a pound of copper is $4.41, which is a 285% rise over the value of the metal that 155 copper pennies are composed of. My plan is to divide the pennies into 1 pound sacks and put them on eBay. Perhaps I’ll start the price at $2.

Since it took less than 3 hours to sort through all 2000 pennies, it would be no trouble to go through even 5000, if the pound sacks start selling.

The end of bronze coinage

Over the last 20-25 years, bronze coins in countries all over the world have gradually suffered the same fate as silver coinage did 50 years ago. While the end of silver coinage was relatively quick in some parts of the world, the replacement of copper coinage is happening at a much slower pace. Nonetheless, it is happening.

One of the first major world economies to replace copper in small denominated coins was the US and it was the one cent coin which lost its copper content- at least the majority of it in 1982. With copper prices a bit higher than historically normal prices at about $4.35 per pound, and taking into account the weight of the US one cent coin, only 136, or $1.36, contain enough copper to equal a pound and thus $4.35. The higher copper price is resulting in a manifestation of Gresham’s Law, which in part states that ‘good money is driven out by bad money’. In other words, people will keep the good money and circulate the bad money. This happened in the mid-sixties in the US, when the 90% silver dimes and quarters were replaced with a cupro-nickel composite.

In 1992, the UK and Ireland replaced their 1p and 2p coins, which were composed of 97% copper, with copper clad steel. The copper content dropped to just under 8%. In 1997, Canada replaced the majority of copper in their pennies with zinc and then steel in 2000. Russia replaced the copper content in their kopeck denominations with steel in 2006. Copper disappeared altogether from Mexican centavo coins in 1986. From then until the New Peso was introduced in 1993, there was no copper in any Mexican coins. Presently, the only copper can be found in the bi-metallic 1, 2, and 5 peso coins- and only in the center. The rings are steel. Most Central and South American countries have coinage that is composed of steel.

Along with the removal of copper and bronze coinage, there is a shift toward steel or clad zinc and nickel from cupro-nickel coins. The amount of copper in some of the higher-denominated coins around the world, especially the Euro coins and US coins, however, is secure since a startling jump in copper prices would need to occur before scrutiny is brought to their composition. It would take almost 100 US quarters, for example, to equal a pound of copper. This would be an intrinsic value of $4.35 vs. a face value of $25.00.

Copper composed circulation coinage has a long history in many parts of the world and holds a small part in the history of a number of countries and even cultures. The removal of copper from the worlds coins only serves to reduce the over all value of the coinage. There is no value in steel. Old silver coins were backed by their very intrinsic value. The same can be said of copper or copper alloy coins as well. The value of a 1979 one cent piece from the US is higher than a present day one cent piece. The copper content may in fact be worth more than $0.01, but at least there is value to the coin.

Present day coinage holds little value. Because of the increased population of the planet, more government are being forced to produce more coins. Higher mintage figures coupled with the reduction of precious metals in the coins of today is reducing the value of the coins to collectors. Worse still, it is greatly reducing the overall value of the currency itself.

Changing face of Brazilian currency

When sorting coins from Brazil, I became acutely aware that there are several coin designs that span a number of currencies. For example, in the 10 years between 1985 and 1995, the Brazilian currency went from the New Cruzeiro, both Cruzados, a third Cruzeiro, Cruzeiro Real and finally ended up with the present currency of Real. Ironically, the Real was the first currency used in Brazil until 1947, when the first Cruzeiro was introduced.

In an effort to accurately correlate my coins with the appropriate currency, I set out on a quest to obtain this information. What is here is what I have found.

First Currency: Real 1620-1947

As a Portuguese colony from 1620-1822, much of the Brazilian economy revolved around its sugar industry and a brief gold rush. The currency used was the Real (Réis) with no subdivision. Copper coins were produced with denominations of 5, 10, 20 and 40 Réis, silver was used for the 75, 150, 300 and 600 Réis coins and gold for 1000, 2000, 4000 and 6400 Réis. The 1778 silver coinage reformation produced denominations of 80, 160, 320 and 640 Réis, with gold 800, 1600 and 3200 Réis coins produced between 1780 and 1782. In 1809, existing copper and silver coins were over punched with the Portuguese arms, and the denomination doubled for 5, 10, 20 and 40 Réis coins. The values of the 75, 150, 300 and 600 Réis coins were increased in value to 80, 160, 320 and 640 Réis, respectively. To completely resolve the older Spanish coinage in circulation, these were over punched to produce 960 Réis coins in 1810. An 80 Réis coin was introduced in 1811.

Another coinage reformation took place between 1833 and 1835 which resulted in a copper coinage standard for the entire country and an over punch for all existing copper coins produced 10, 20 and 40 Réis coins. Silver 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1200 Réis coins and a 10000 gold Réis coin were introduced in this reformation as well. By the late 1840s and extending into the mid 1850s, the currency was reformed further by reducing the silver and gold content in the coinage. A new series of silver and gold coins were produced in denominations of 200, 500, 1000 and 200 silver Réis, and 5000, 10000, 20000 gold Réis. Between 1868 and 1873, bronze 10, 20 and 40 Réis coins were produced. Copper-nickel 50, 100 and 200 Réis coins were introduced in 1871.

400 and 20 Réis copper-nickel coins were introduced in 1901 and 1918 respectively. 1922 saw aluminum-bronze 500 and 100 Réis coins. In 1936, copper-nickel 200 Réis, aluminum-bronze 2000 Réis and silver 5000 Réis coins were introduced.

Second Currency: Cruzeiro 1947-1967

In 1947, Brazil began using the Cruzeiro (Cr / ₢), named for the Southern Cross constellation, as its currency, which replaced the Réis at a rate of 1000 Réis to 1 Cruzeiro. The new Cruzeiro was divided into 100 centavos.

Coins of the first Cruzeiro 1947-1956

Initially, the coins were composed of copper-nickel for the sub-division denominations and aluminum-bronze for the currency denominations. Starting in 1956, the design of all coins changed, as did the composition- they were now made of aluminum. The 2 and 5 Cruzeiro were discontinued.

By 1961, the currency was devalued to the point where coin production stopped completely. When it resumed in 1965, the only coins produced were Cruzeiros made of aluminum for the 10 and 20 and copper-nickel for the 50. Centavo coins were withdrawn from circulation. By the end of 1968, all coins were withdrawn from circulation.

Third Currency: Cruzeiro Novo 1967-1986

By 1967, the Cruzeiro was beyond salvage from rampant inflation, a state which a multitude of Brazilian currencies would exist for another thirty years. The first solution was to introduce a new currency, called Cruzeiro Novo (also divided into 100 centavos), which was valued at 1000 Cruzeiros.

The first coins produced for the new currency were denominated in 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 centavos and 1 Cruzeiro.

The three lowest denominations were stainless steel, while the others were composed of copper-nickel. The copper-nickel coins were eventually replaced by stainless steel and a modified design.

By 1979, inflation gripped the new Cruzeiro and the centavo coins were removed from circulation since they were worthless. Over the following three years, a new design appeared on a smaller 1 Cruzeiro coin and the 5, 10, 20 and 50 Cruzeiro coins were introduced. In 1985, smaller 100, 200 and 500 Cruzeiro coins were being produced. These were all composed of stainless steel.

Fourth Currency: Cruzado 1986-1989

The Novo Cruzeiro had a long death, but was replaced in the end with the Cruzado (Cz$), divided into 100 centavos, at a rate of 1000 Novo Cruzeiro = 1 Cruzado.

The first Cruzado coins issued were composed of stainless steel in denominations of 5, 10, 20 and 50 centavos and 1, 5 and 10 Cruzado coins. Just two years after these coins were minted, production ceased. Again, the currency fell victim to rampant inflation.

Fifth Currency: Cruzado Novo 1989-1990

In January, 1989, the Cruzado Novo (NCz$) was established at a rate of 1000 Cruzados = 1 Cruzado Novo. The currency was divided into 100 centavos. Coin denominations were issued in denominations of 1, 5, 10 and 50 centavos and 1 Cruzado Novo, composed of stainless steel.

Sixth Currency: Cruzeiro 1990-1993

Unlike the previous four currencies, whose introduction was the result of rampant inflation, this Cruzeiro, also known as the Third Cruzeiro, was merely the result of renaming the Cruzado Novo. It was introduced less than 14 months after the introduction of the Cruzado Novo, and replaced it at a 1:1 ratio.

Since this Cruzeiro was also divided into 100 centavos and replaced the Cruzado Novo at par, the centavo coins issued for the previous currency were kept in circulation and only the 1 Cruzado Novo coin was withdrawn from circulation. Stainless steel 1, 5, 10 and 50 Cruzeiro coins were issued in 1990.

Despite the effort to stem the ebb and flow of rampant inflation followed by the introduction of a new currency, less than two years after renaming the Cruzado Novo to the Cruzeiro, inflation again took hold of the currency and higher denominations of coins were issued. Smaller stainless steel 100, 500, 1000 and 5000 Cruzeiro coins were introduced. The coins issued previously became worthless and were taken out of circulation.

Seventh Currency: Cruzeiro Real 1993-1994

The Cruzeiro Real (CR$) was introduced at a rate of 1000 Cruzeiros = 1 Cruzeiro Real and was subdivided into 100 centavos, but the sib-divided unit was never practically represented as either coins or banknotes. The only coins issued were composed of stainless steel and denominated into 5, 10, 50 and 100 Cruzeiro Reais.

This currency was different in many ways to the previous currencies issued since the first Cruzeiro in 1946. Its purpose was to allow the population to become accustomed to a stable currency. It was pegged to the US Dollar and there was a price parity program established. After 11 months, the Cruzeiro Real was replaced.

Eighth Currency: Real 1994-Present

The Real (R$) is a result of a substantial monetary, economic and currency reform put forth to end inflation that plagued the economy since 1956. It was introduced at a rate of 2750 Cruzeiro Reais = 1 Real and was divided into 100 centavos.

Coins issued were composed of stainless steel at first in denominations of 1, 5, 10 and 50 centavos and 1 Real. The obverse was common and the reverse was considered a generic design whose elements were similar between denominations. A 25 centavo coin was produced in 1995 as a vehicle for commemorative designs, but also had a standard design different from the other denominations in the series.

After four years, the stainless steel designs were replaced with cons containing higher value metal alloys in recognition of the intrinsic value of the currency the coins represented. The coins in the first series remain legal tender, but are being withdrawn from circulation.

The 1 and 5 centavo coins are composed of copper plated steel, the 10 and 25 centavo coins are composed of brass plated steel. The 50 centavo coin was made of copper-nickel until 2002 when the composition changed to stainless steel. The 1 Real coin was bi-metallic and composed of copper nickel with a brass ring until 2002, when the center was changed to stainless steel. In 2005, the 1 centavo coin was no longer being produced, but is still legal tender.

Despite its relatively young age, the Real seems to be a solid currency and has outlasted its predecessors in terms of stability.