Description and research notes
The 10 Cruzeiros note dated 1963 was issued by the Tesouro Nacional during the turbulent final years of Brazil’s first Cruzeiro monetary system. Printed by the American Bank Note Company in New York, it embodies the meticulous craftsmanship and classical design language for which ABNC was world-renowned.
The obverse presents a formal engraved portrait of Getúlio Vargas, President of Brazil through two defining eras: his populist leadership of the 1930s and 1940s and his later return to power in the early 1950s. The image projects stability and authority, reflecting the government’s effort to reaffirm confidence in a currency already strained by inflation. The reverse displays an allegorical female figure representing the Republic surrounded by detailed guilloche and geometric security patterns.
Each note bears the inscription ESTAMPA 1A and serials specific to the 796A series, here numbered 074019. ABNC’s intaglio printing delivers crisp linework, micro-lathe engraving, and a subtle two-tone palette that became a hallmark of mid-century Brazilian design. The denomination’s typography and border symmetry demonstrate the fusion of European neoclassical balance with Latin American flourish.
Certified PMG 67 EPQ Superb Gem Uncirculated, this example ranks at the top of the surviving population. It retains perfect centering, fresh paper gloss, and original embossing. Such immaculate 10 Cruzeiros notes are seldom encountered because the issue circulated heavily until the 1967 currency reform that introduced the Cruzeiro Novo. Today it stands as a pristine record of the artistry and financial narrative of Brazil on the eve of monetary transformation.