The Brazilian Real:

The present Brazilian Currency known as the Real is a currency that was adopted from the colonial-era Real.

The Real was first introduced locally by the Portuguese explorers who settled in Brazil, and was officially declared the official Brazilian currency in 1690. Between 1942 and 1994, the Real was replaced by the Cruzeiro.

The Real’s status as the official currency was reinstated in 1994 under ambitious economic reforms that were taking place in the country.

Notes and coin denominations:

At present there are Real notes in 2, 5, 10, 50 and 100 denominations. Coin denominations exist for values of; 0.01, 0.05, 0.10, 0.25, 0.50 and 1 Real. Coin colors introduced in 1998 vary and are not standard for a particular denomination. Prior to this all coins were made of stainless steel, though they are slowly being removed from circulation.

Major Banks display foreign exchange rates in local newspapers for the Real against key world currencies. At the time of writing, one Brazilian Real is equivalent to 0.476 American Dollars and 0.27 to the British Pound.