Grano de cacao

In pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica, cacao (cocoa) beans served as a form of money: goods in the markets, or tianguis, could be priced and paid for in beans. Cacao was also brewed into a prized drink largely reserved for nobles and warriors among peoples such as the Mexica and the Maya.

Minted coins arrived only with the Spanish; before the conquest, commerce relied on barter and on widely accepted goods of value such as cacao.