Steel was an exotic metal obtained from recovered meteorites. Steel was very rare and precious back then. Only royalty has steel knives and swords.
wiki: Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon and other elements. Because of its high tensile strength and low cost, it is a major component used in buildings, infrastructure, tools, ships, automobiles, machines, appliances, and weapons.
I should have read the article more closely because it said "ceremonial sword." But your point about iron being a rare commodity was certainly true for the ancient Egyptians, but the Hittites were making iron weapons nearly a thousand years before Rome existed. The Assyrians were doing the same thing for their armies several hundred years before Rome. The Romans didn't have any difficulty equipping their legions with steel weapons and armor.
The Romans had steel. Steel has been around since the 13th c BC.
https://www.worldsteel.org/steelstory/