The World’s Oldest Customer Complaint Was About Copper, Not Gold.
Introduction
When you imagine the world’s first customer complaint, you might picture disputes over food shortages, corrupt officials, or unfair taxes. But history’s very first written grievance — carved into a clay tablet nearly 3,750 years ago — was about something surprisingly familiar: the purity of metal.
Not gold. Not silver.
Copper.
This ancient dispute tells us something profound: purity and fairness have always been the foundation of trade. And it also reveals why today’s fragmented purity systems remain so problematic.
The Story of Nanni and Ea-Nāṣir
Around 1750 BC, in the Mesopotamian city of Ur (modern-day Iraq), a copper merchant named Ea-Nāṣir struck a deal with a customer, Nanni. The agreement was straightforward: Nanni would pay for ingots of “fine copper.”
But when the shipment arrived, Nanni was outraged. The ingots were low-grade, poor in quality, and far from the “fine” copper he had been promised. His anger wasn’t kept to himself. Instead, he inscribed his fury into a clay tablet in cuneiform script — creating what is now recognised as the earliest customer complaint in recorded history.
Nanni’s words still survive, preserved today in the British Museum:
“I shall select and take the ingots individually in my own yard. I shall exercise against you my right of rejection because you have treated me with contempt.”
What’s striking isn’t just the frustration — it’s the principle. Even 3,750 years ago, buyers expected transparency, accountability, and respect.
Why It Matters
This clay tablet is more than an amusing relic of Mesopotamian trade. It proves three enduring truths:
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Copper was as valuable then as gold is now.
The fact that the world’s first complaint was about copper — not gold — shows that all metals carried economic weight. -
Purity disputes have shaped trust in trade for millennia.
From copper in Ur to sterling silver in London, disputes over what’s “fine” have always disrupted commerce. -
Markets collapse without clarity.
Nanni’s frustration wasn’t just about metal. It was about the absence of a standard. Without a shared, transparent measure of purity, trade devolves into mistrust.
The KPS™ Connection
Now imagine if Nanni and Ea-Nāṣir had access to the Karat Purity Scale™ (KPS™).
Instead of vague promises of “fine copper,” the ingots could have been stamped with an exact purity measure:
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KPS™ 24K Cu – representing ultra-pure .999 Copper
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KPS™ 18K Cu – representing 75% Copper
Nanni would have had clarity. Ea-Nāṣir would have had accountability. And history’s very first customer complaint might never have been written at all.
As the saying goes:
“Purity disputes are not new. Evidence proves copper deserved equal standing 3,750 years ago.”
Final Thought
The Ea-Nāṣir tablet reminds us that purity disputes are as old as trade itself. From the clay tablets of Mesopotamia to the bullion bars of today, trust in purity remains the foundation of value.
With KPS™, that trust finally has a universal, transparent standard.