Brazil P226 500 Cruzeiros on P222 500 Cruzados Novos 1990 UNC｜hummingbird｜orchid｜environment

In 1990, as part of Brazil’s ongoing struggle with chronic inflation, the government decided to simplify the monetary system by dropping the “novo” from the cruzado novo and reverting to the historic name cruzeiro, creating what is known as the third cruzeiro. The change was largely nominal rather than substantive: one cruzeiro (Cr$) was set equal to one cruzado novo (NCz$), with no immediate redenomination, and was intended to signal a psychological reset and a return to a familiar national currency identity after a decade of rapid, confusing monetary reforms. In practice, however, inflation soon resumed, and the revived cruzeiro would itself be short-lived, replaced in 1993 by the cruzeiro real and then, in 1994, by the real.

Front:

• Augusto Ruschi (1915-1986)
  
• Cattleya labiata warneri orchid typical of the state of Espírito Santo and the largest flower of the genus in Brazil
• Other flora and fauna
• Rectangular overstamp: 500 Cruzeiros

Back:

• Ruschi examining orchids
• Hummingbird

Printing: polychromy in chalcography

Augusto Ruschi (1915–1986) was a Brazilian naturalist and environmentalist best known for his pioneering study and protection of hummingbirds and Atlantic Forest ecosystems. A self-taught but internationally respected scientist, he identified and classified dozens of species, founded biological reserves in Espírito Santo, and became one of Brazil’s earliest public voices for conservation at a time when deforestation and development were accelerating. His work combined meticulous field observation with an almost poetic reverence for biodiversity, earning him recognition as a foundational figure in Brazilian ecology.