precious metal, gold, silver (see Molina and Karttunen)
in san Franco. ihcuac no mochalli omoman yn omotlapallicuillo yancuic rrejas tepoztli, yn oncan callihtic capilla mayor, españa hualla cenca mahuiztic ynic oquitlapallicuilloque xoxoctic. yhuan cequi coztic. cequi yca coztic teocuitlatl = at San Francisco, and also when the new painted iron grill inside, in the main chapel, was set up and inaugurated; it came from Spain, very splendidly painted, green and some of it yellow, and some with gold (central Mexico, 1615)
Auh ҫanno itlamian yn omoteneuh metztli Mayo. yn oquipehualtihque españoles. ytech ye tlataca chapultepetl. ytencopatzinco tlahtohuani visurrey Don diego fernandez de cordoua Marques de Guadarcaҫar. quitemohuaya ytech teocuitlatl yn tepetzintli. aquique yn quimoztlacahuilique visurrey ca ytech toctitica miec coztic teocuitlatl. yehuatl in quitemohuaya. auh in ҫa tepan atle nez ҫan quicauhque in tlatlatacaya mochi quintlazque quintepeuhque yn ixquich ahuehuetl oncan onoyah quinxexeloque quitlatlapanque hualla nican palaҫio oncan tlatlac cozina, huel ic tlaixpoliuh in chapultepec = Likewise in the said month of May, at the end of it, the Spaniards began to dig on Chapoltepetl by order of the lord viceroy don Diego Fernández de Córdoba, Marqués de Guadalcázar; they were searching for gold on the hill. Someone falsely told the viceroy that much gold lies buried on it, and that was what they were looking for, but afterward nothing could be found, and they halted the excavation. They knocked down all the cypresses that were there and left them scattered around; they cut them up and split them and they were brought here to the palace, where they were burned in the kitchen; with that things were left very bare at Chapoltepec (central Mexico, 1615)
yn isquich yc otlatocat yn oquiman ymil ahu in icoac omic cuix ma oncan pouh yn tecpan cayyo ca onquiça ca ytech phui yn inpilhuan ahu in tlacalaquili yn tilmatli yhuan yn pisquitl. yn tlaolli cequi quitemaca cequi çan yc quicohua chalchihuitl. teocuitlatl x̶i̶h̶u̶i̶t̶l̶.̶ ahu in icoac omique ca ye intech povi. yn inpilhuan cuix ma oncan quicauhtihui in tecpan ca çan iuhqui y ye ypan netlayecoltilo tlatocayotl. = all that he ruled over, all the lands he took for himself, when he has died, belong to the palace alone; what belonged to his children has ended. And as to the tributes, the capes, and the harvest of shelled corn, [such rulers] give some to others; with some they buy precious green stones and gold. But when they have died, [these things] belong to their children. Did they leave them to the palace as if they were acquired for the realm? (central Mexico, early seventeenth century)
auh ychiconteyxtih yn acalli ynic ya mexico Cohuanacotzin yhuā oncā yeto yn teocuitlatl ȳ tlatocatlatquitl yn iaxca neçahualcoyotzin yhuā neçahualpiltzintli moch ic quinmaquixti yn icihuahuā quintlaxtlahui ȳ Españoles. yn iquac ye micohua mexico. = And Coanacochtzin went to Mexico with seven of his boats, and in them went the gold, the royal possessions, Neçahualcoyotl's and Neçahualpiltzintli's property, with all of which he ransomed his women; he paid the Spaniards for them when there was death in Mexico. (central Mexico, early seventeenth century)
oncan quinxotlatique ypampa yn coztic teocuitlatl yn quipolloque españolesme = There they burned their feet over the gold that the Spaniards lost (1608, Central Mexico)
inic cenca motolinitica in ica totlacallaquil in coztic teocuitlatl epouallatemantotontin in cexiuhtica ticcallaquia = how troubled the town was with our tribute in gold, sixty pieces that we gave each year (Huejotzingo, 1560)
nican icuiliuhtoc in tiaquiztequitl in tlacalaquilli in teocuitlatl = Here is written the market tax paid in gold (Coyoacan, mid-sixteenth century)
in teucuitlatl quitemoa amo tle ipan quitta, in chalchivitl, in quetzalli yoan in xivitl = They were looking for gold; they cared nothing for green-stone, precious feathers, or turquoise
anquinpiezque amo can quexquichtin. amo tzonquizque. amo tlanque yezque. yn amomacehualhuan yn amechtlacallaquilizque yn amechmacazque yn amo çan quexquich tlapanahuia hualca. yn chalchihuitl. yn coztic teocuitlatl. yn quetzalli. yn quetzalitztli = you will have in your keeping countless, infinite, unlimited commoners who will pay tribute to you, who will give you an immeasurable superfluity of precious green stones, of gold, of quetzal feathers, of emerald-green jade (central Mexico, early seventeenth century)
Auh in teucuitlatl quixaxantecaque in Españoles = And the Spaniards made the gold into bricks (Mexico City, sixteenth century)
canel iehoatl in cenca camiqui quipoçaoa, quiteucivi, quipitzonequi in teucuitlatl = for gold was what they greatly thirsted for; they were gluttonous for it, starved for it, piggishly wanting it
iztac teocuitlatl (also seen as yztac teocuitlatl) = white gold, i.e. silver
aocac quilnamiquia yn tleyn cecenyaca cecentlacatl ỹchachan quimopiallia. yn teocuitlatl yn tlatquitl. moch callitic mocauhtiquiz. aocac conittac. aocac conmocuitlahui. ynic chollolohuac. ynic necholtiloc quiyahuac. yn ohtlipan, yn ixquichcauh manca tlallolinaliztli = No one remembered what money and property each person had in his house, everything was left inside the house, no one looked at it or saw after it while fleeing; everyone fled outside into the road as long as the earthquake lasted (central Mexico, 1611)
oncan comunidad quitlapozque in caxa quipovazque yn teocuitlatl yhixpan in Corregidor = ahí en la comunidad; abrirán la caja, contarán las monedas en presencia del corregidor (Cuauhtinchan, Puebla, s. XVI)
ynic motlapacho teocuitlayo = al cubrirse con metal precioso (ca. 1582, Mexico City)
Nicpia quezquitel chalchihuitl yca coztic teocuitlatl yhuan zequime tetzitzintin = También tengo unas piedras preciosas engastadas con oro y otras muchas diferentes piedras (Tepexi de la Seda, 1621)
oguipaca cozticteuguit yztacteguit = Lavaron el oro y la plata
auh tel yehua[n] q'[ui]mati y[n] nahuatlatoque ca ça[n] teocuitlatica yn oq'[ui]chiuhque yn oq'[ui]ztlacatlalique tlatolli = Y más, los traductores saben que lo hicieron por medio de oro y dijeron mentiras. (ca. 1582, México)
matlactlatemantli coztic teocuitlatl = part of the tributes owed by Quauhtinchan to the encomendero in 1523 (Quauhtinchan, sixteenth century)
huel temamauhti tteocuitlatescatl, quetzallitznacochtli, moch teocuitlatl yn ixocpal tteocuitlacotzehuatl contlalitiuh = [Axayacatzin] se veia imponente, con su espejo de oro, con sus orejeras de obsidiana fina, con sus sandalinas todas de oro, con las ajorcas de oro que llevaba ceñidas. (Mexico City, c. 1572)