Museu de Valores do Banco Central do Brasil, Currency museum at Banco Central headquarters in Brasília, Brazil.
The Museu de Valores do Banco Central do Brasil is a currency museum housed in the Central Bank's main building in Brasília and contains extensive collections of Brazilian and international banknotes, coins, gold bars, and medals alongside artworks. The exhibition spans multiple levels and displays financial artifacts from various countries and time periods in addition to the monetary items.
The museum was established in 1966 and opened to the public in 1972 before relocating to the Central Bank's main building in 1981. This move marked a turning point for the institution and allowed it to house its expanding collections in a prominent location.
The museum displays works by Brazilian modernist artists such as Di Cavalcanti, Tarsila do Amaral, and Portinari throughout its exhibition spaces. You can observe how the Central Bank has integrated contemporary art into its institutional identity and made these pieces accessible to the public.
The museum is located in the basement level of the Central Bank building in the Banking Sector South and is straightforward to find. Admission is free and guided tours are offered Tuesday through Friday, making it easy for visitors to explore the exhibits with expert support.
The museum's art collection was assembled primarily through the acquisition of works from failed financial institutions, representing around 90 percent of its artistic holdings. This unusual origin gives the collection a particular story and shows how the Central Bank preserved artworks that might otherwise have been lost.
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