Iron in the Book of Mormon

Have you ever thought it strange that iron is mentioned as a “precious thing” in the Book of Mormon? Mosiah 11:8 says “King Noah built many elegant and spacious buildings; and he ornamented them with fine work of wood, and of all manner of precious things, of gold, and of silver, and of iron, and of brass, and of ziff, and of copper…” Why is iron mentioned alongside copper, gold and silver as precious metals?

An article by Alan Millard in the Bible Review talks about how iron was used anciently to decorate royal beds, thrones, bracelets and other jewelry. The article explains how iron was “highly prized” just like other precious metals and was considered a treasure.

I am fairly confident that if I tried to give my wife an elegant pair of iron ear rings, she would not hold them in as high regard as gold or even silver ones. I am also confident that Joseph Smith would not have considered iron a precious metal. He would not have included iron in the same class as gold, silver and copper if he were writing the Book of Mormon based on his own experiences.