Chocolate Was Once Used as Currency

In ancient Mesoamerica, money really did grow on trees. For the Maya and Aztec civilizations, cacao beans were not just the raw ingredient for a bitter, frothy beverage; they were a divine gift from the gods, holding deep cultural and spiritual significance. Consumed by elites during sacred ceremonies, cacao was considered more valuable than gold. Because the Aztecs could not grow the beans in their central highlands, they had to import them through trade or demand them as tribute from conquered peoples, which greatly increased their worth and established them as a prominent form of currency.

This botanical currency operated within a surprisingly sophisticated economic system. Transactions in the bustling marketplaces were made by counting out beans to purchase anything from food to labor. For instance, a small rabbit might cost 30 cacao beans, while a single turkey egg was worth three beans. The value of the beans themselves could fluctuate based on their size, plumpness, and origin, much like modern currency. This system was so integral to their society that Aztec ruler Montezuma II reportedly had a stash of nearly a billion cacao beans.

Where there is currency, there is often counterfeiting, and the cacao-based economy was no exception. A thriving industry of fake money emerged, with dishonest merchants crafting fraudulent beans from materials like clay, wax, or even carved avocado pits. Some counterfeiters would go to great lengths, hollowing out real cacao shells and refilling them with mud or sand to pass them off as genuine. These forgeries became such a known problem that market authorities had to actively regulate the authenticity of the beans, much like a modern mint oversees coinage.