Copper has been used in history because it was easily found in its original form on the ground. The color of copper is different too, which makes it stand out from other metals. Copper is fairly malleable and easy to work with so it was a good choice for many applications.
This metal is pretty abundant around the Mediterranean Sea. In fact there was so much you could find it in nuggets or chunks around streams and inside canyons and it was fairy easy to recognize. It was discovered a long time ago that copper was easily malleable.
We don’t really know how copper was discovered, but at the time gold was already discovered. It is quite possible that in search of gold or similar metals, people came across copper. The discovery that copper could easily be shaped was probably an accident while mining for it.
It is interesting to note that copper and gold are the only two metals that have color! All other metals are silver, or some varying shades of gray.
Pennies used to be made entirely of copper, but since the value of copper used to make the penny surpassed 1 cent, copper is only a thin coating on pennies now. It is filled with another metal, zinc.
Archeological records show that copper working existed in many locations throughout the globe. Mesopotamian civilizations used copper throughout the region and were one of the first to widely use copper and gold. This is the same area that is today’s Iraq.