I’m generous with my claps :-)

As to copper, the Romans already used it to mint their coins. Although I’m not sure if they valued copper itself or if they only valued it once it was in the shape of a coin — sort of like we don’t value little pieces of paper, unless it’s in the form of paper money.

If I had to guess, I’d say that it’s likely that copper itself was also valued, if not by the Romans, then by some other civilization. After all, I imagine copper was rare in some parts of the world and any material that is rare has the potential to be valued at least for some time. For instance, aluminum was considered very valuable before it became ubiquitous.

Thanks for reading and thanks for the question!