Gold and silver now have practical uses in electronics as conductors, etc. but have long been sought after. Aside from their lustrous properties for jewelry and symbols of wealth, did they have any practical uses in history or are they simply nice to look at? Trading metals seems silly the more I think about it. What's the point of putting value in a silver coin if, aside from the fact that it's made of silver, it has no use?
It varies by culture. Many american natives in central america used gold as religious and decorative, but didnt atribute it as much value as the European Conquistadores who came from Mercantilist Spain. Mercantilism was based on hoarding precious metals to use as money, or just as showing off. This presented an interesting escenario where the natives would pay a lot of gold for things like glass and farm animals and think the Spanish were dumb, while the Spanish thought the same of the natives.