Act 3, Scene 2: As Bassanio addresses the lead casket, he says: "...thou meager lead/ Which rather threat'nest than dost promise aught/ Thy plainness moves me more than eloquence..."

The lead casket has no beauty or worth..... it isn't gold.... ornate and symbolix of greed. It isn't silver.... the color of money. The lead casket was unassuming and without deceit. This is symbolic of the kind of man Portia's father would have wished for her husband.