The History of Brazilian Real
"The Dutch West Indies Corporation (Geoctroyerde Westindishe Compagnie) established a colony in Pernambuco in 1630. The Dutch minted square coins for use in Brazil between 1645 and 1654.

Portuguese settlers brought Portuguese and Spanish coins into Brazil. Spanish coins were counterstamped with Portuguese denominations in 1643. Gold was discovered in the Minas Gerais region in 1693 and Portugal began minting coins in Brazil in 1695, minting gold Moedas, silver Reals, Patacas and Vintem, all in multiples of Reis (BRD), which became the legal tender.

Brazil issued two series of coins, one for use in Portugal and one for use in Portuguese colonies and other parts of the Americas. The Dobra was equivalent to the Spanish 8 escudos, was worth 12,800 reis and was popularly known as the “Joe” since it had King Joao V (1707-1750) on the front. Brazil also issued two sets of silver coins. Minas Gerais also had a separate copper coinage. Extensive counterstamping increased the supply of coins between 1799 and 1835. New denominations were introduced in 1834, and the Milreis (BRM) was adopted as the legal monetary unit of Brazil on September 11, 1846.

Brazil suffered from creeping inflation throughout the twentieth century, leading to the introduction of several new currencies. The Cruzeiro (BRZ) replaced the Milreis on November 1, 1942. Milreis ceased to be legal tender in 1955. After World War II, inflation increased at an accelerating rate. Numerous currency controls, import taxes, currency devaluations, crawling pegs, multiple currency rates and other techniques were unable to prevent Brazil from periodically collapsing into hyperinflation. The government would introduce a new currency, forswear expanding the money supply, then begin the inflationary cycle again.
All currencies have been divisible into 100 Centavos, though because of the inflation, coins were issued immediately after the currency before banknotes became the only medium of exchange.

Banknotes were issued by the National Treasury from 1833 until 1921 and from 1944 until 1965, by the Caixa de Conversao from 1906 until 1920, by the Caixa de Estabilazcao from 1926 until 1930, by the Banco do Brasil from 1923 until 1942, by the Casa de Moeda in 1942, and by the Banco Central do Brasil from 1965 until today. Banknotes were also issued by private banks until 1900, and by some State Treasuries in the 1920s and 1930s."






Sources: http://www.globalfinancialdata.com/index.php3?action=showghoc&country_name=Brazil

wikipedia.org

Central Bank Website