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The first official currency of Brazil was the real (pronounced (:ʁeˈaw); pl. ''réis''). Its sign was Rs$. As the currency of the Portuguese empire it was in use in Brazil from the earliest days of the colonial period, and remained in use until 1942, when it was replaced by the cruzeiro. The name real was resurrected in 1994 for the new currency unit (but with the new plural form reais). This currency is still in use. One modern real is equivalent to 2.75 × 1018 (2.75 quintillion) of the old ''réis''. The name comes from the Portuguese word ''real'' (in the sense of "royal") and was borrowed from a Portuguese currency previously used in Brazil. The dollar-like sign in the currency's symbol (and in the symbols of all other Brazilian currencies), called ''cifrão'' in Portuguese, was always written with two vertical strokes () rather than one. ==History== The Portuguese real was the currency used by the first Portuguese settlers to arrive in the Americas, but the first official money to circulate bearing the name "real" was actually printed in 1654 by the Dutch, during their occupation of part of the Brazilian Northeast. The real was retained when Brazil became independent in 1822. It was not sub-divided in smaller units, even though it was affected by significant inflation during its long lifespan. The practical currency unit shifted from the real to the ''mil réis'' ("one thousand réis") and then to the ''conto de réis'' (one million réis, literally "one count of réis") in the final years of the República Velha era. Amounts under 1,000 réis were typically written prefixed by "Rs", as in "Rs 350". In amounts of 1,000 réis and over, the "Rs" remained as the prefix, but the ''cifrão'' ", a doubly stroked dollar sign, was inserted just after the thousands digit — as in "Rs 1$712" for 1,712 réis. For amounts of one million reais and over, a colon ":" was also inserted just after the millions digit, as in "Rs 1:020$800" for 1,020,800 réis. In the 18th century and early 19th centuries, the gold currency was based on the 22 carat gold piece which weighed ½ ounce (14.34 grams). The standard for the silver currency varied during this period, with the 640 real coin fixed at onça (17.92 grams) of .917 silver in 1806. In 1834, the ''peça'' was revalued at 10$000 réis and the silver 1$200 real coin was set at 415 grains (26.89 grams) of .917 silver. In 1846, a gold standard was established with the ''mil réis'' set at 822.076 mg gold, a 37.5% debasement from the previous standard. After the establishment of the Republic in 1889, the value of the currency fell, with a peg of 180 mg of gold for the one thousand réis set in 1926. This was abandoned in 1933 when the mil réis was pegged to the U.S. dollar at a rate of 12$500 réis = 1 dollar. A further devaluation occurred in 1939, when it was pegged to the U.S. dollar at a rate of 22$500 réis = 1 USD. In 1942, the real was replaced by the cruzeiro, at a rate of 1$000 réis = 1 cruzeiro. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Brazilian real (old)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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