4000 Réis - João VI

João VI issued this denomination from Rio de Janeiro following Brazil's elevation to Kingdom status in 1815 — a direct consequence of the Portuguese court having relocated there after Napoleon's 1807 invasion of the Iberian Peninsula. The mint operating in Rio was producing gold coinage for a court-in-exile that had no intention of returning anytime soon, and the 4000 réis sat at a practical denomination for daily high-value commerce in a colony suddenly functioning as an imperial capital.

João finally returned to Lisbon in 1821 under constitutional pressure, leaving his son Pedro behind. Brazilian-struck examples from 1822 predate Pedro's September declaration of independence by a matter of months.