Roman empire, on which bell-something empire is based on, with all of it faults, still was able to produce high quality (mediocre quality by modern standards) steel in industrial scale, able to satisfy all military, and not only, needs. As well as producing fine glassware for a time, medicine, etc. And thats just a quick, surface level, googling on wikipedia. So there are should be a lot more steel items and they shouldnt costs like 3 and a half coppers.
Point is, savs, in his infinity wisdom, didnt even bothered to do a basic research about a technological level of a empire which he tries, and fails, to write about.