See the table on this page: http://www.roymech.co.uk/Useful_Tables/Matter/Costs.html http://www.roymech.co.uk/Useful_Tables/Matter/Costs.html In one of the tab

See the table on this page: http://www.roymech.co.uk/Useful_Tables/Matter/Costs.html http://www.roymech.co.uk/Useful_Tables/Matter/Costs.html In one of the tables the cost for bronze (more durable than pure copper but having similar antiseptic properties) is listed as 19.5 versus 10.9 for stainless steel, same units. So bronze costs almost twice as much as stainless, not a ruinous increase given its antiseptic properties. One could seek an alloy form that would balance a material's antiseptic property versus cost, a project that hasn't yet begun.