Brazil Travel & Tourism News
BRASILIA — On Monday, the Central Bank of Brazil will release second-generation ten and twenty-real notes. The new paper currency will join fifty and one-hundred real notes which the bank put into circulation in December 2010.
New $10 and $20 Real Notes Coming
The Central Bank will release two and five-real notes in 2013, although it gave no definite date.
According to the bank, the second-generation real notes will be in simultaneous circulation with the old bills, which they will replace as they age. There is no need to exchange the old bills for the new.
The new bills contain the latest and most advanced anti-counterfeiting elements that exist today. One of the new features is a holographic strip, consisting of discrete designs which, when moved, show effects of alternating colors and shapes.
To ensure accessibility for the visually impaired, and to inhibit counterfeiting by chemical washing, each denomination is of a slightly different size. There are also tactile marks embossed in the lower right corner of the notes.
There are no plans to print second-generation one-real notes, since the Central Bank has given priority to the production of one-real coins. The coins have a cost-benefit ratio far superior to notes, due to their durability.
The Central Bank says that it is issuing the new notes, with the most modern anti-counterfeiting features, to ensure the safety of Brazilian money in the coming years. Because the real has established itself as a strong currency, increasingly used as a store of value, it has become the target of counterfeiters.
The Central Bank of Brazil, in partnership with the Mint of Brazil (CMB), developed the new notes over several years. However, the technological upgrading of the notes depended on the acquisition by CMB of the most modern printing equipment.
The technology used to produce current bills dates back more than 30 years. This process ended in 2010 with the installation and testing of new production lines, which allowed production of new notes with advanced security printing.
