Copper, silver and gold were all known in the ancient world. All three are found free in nature, and so were available to the ancients without the need for sophisticated extraction techniques. They are known collectively as the coinage metals, in acknowledgement of their former monetary use. Gold coins were first used about five and a half thousand years ago, and silver coins may well date from around the same time. All three metals were used in commercial transactions before the advent of coinage.
Copper was widely used by the ancients in the alloy, bronze, and gold and silver have long been used in jewellery.
