Coins are a perfect example of a past technology that is now anachronistic.
In the past, access to the tools and materials for coinage were limited to rulers and governments and it gave the government a means for controlling commerce within their boundaries. Barter as a means of valuing transactions was essentially killed with the prevalence of money.
These days, coins have been debased from their precious metal origins and now only represent their face value vs. retaining the value intrinsically. The 1797 Cartwheel 2d coin from the UK is an example of 2d worth of copper back in 1797.
Now, with debased metals, you can mint coins at a fraction of their face value and this has opened a massive opportunity for counterfeiters. There have always been counterfeits but modern minting equipment for basic coins is fairly cheap these days. For this reason you see the re-coinage in the UK where the old pound is now de-monetised. In Canada, the Loon dollar and $2 coins have funky laser etching to increase the overall cost of manufacture for a casual counterfeiter to the point where it is not economically viable. The steady march of technology will continue reduce the cost of these anti-counterfeit methods causing mints to invest in increasingly expensive technologies at an ever accelerating cadence to the point where the cost of minting coins will again exceed their face value.
We also see in certain regions such as Canada, Australia, NZ and even the UK where lower value coins have been withdrawn from circulation. The 1 cent coin is gone as is the UK half penny. Inflation killed these guys... the 5 cent coin (UK 1 penny & 2 penny) are next since the purchasing power of these denominations is no longer what it was. There is not a single product that can be purchased for 1 cent or 1 penny. They are only useful in making up the change from an item pitched at $10 but made to look cheaper at $9.99.
With inflation devaluing FIAT currencies daily counterpointed against increasing cost to manufacture with a completely viable alternate in electronic banking available to most the nails in the coffin of cash are fairly clear to see.
In parallel with the inflationary pressures on coin values vs. the cost of minting, governments would far prefer that cash in general (not just coins) is retired completely. Cash represents a liability on the nation's treasury that is very difficult to control. Electronic funds are much easier to account for and know what funds are at large and where they are. An additional benefit to the government is that they can chase tax on all transactions if they are recorded electronically.
The impediments to a fully cashless society revolve around trust but as we can see, barriers to this trust are eroding... Who would have thought 50 years ago that folks would be willing to share the details of their meals, purchases, location and even relationships with the world the way that Facebook, Twitter, Instagram et al allow. What was once healthy skepticism is now general adoption of technology.
There will be continued resistance from flea markets and other venues which host primarily cash transactions but I don't get the sense that this is a majority of the people... In 20 or 50 years, it will be an even smaller cohort. Even at that, the technology currently exists for small transactions to be conducted from a virtual wallet on your phone... I have seen the Christmas charities who solicit coins at storefronts offer to take e-transfers.
How many folks in the western world don't have a phone? Even children are getting phones at younger ages.
I predict that cash (paper and coins) will have been retired within the next 50 years, at least in a few countries. I doubt that there will be much cash in play by the turn of the next century.
Note that this does not mean the end of the hobby... Only that it will become smaller (folks still collect Horse Brasses)... And looking at some of the NCLT from the
RCM, they are adding ornaments and figurines anyway to their product suite anyway... Diversification is underway.
There will inevitably continue to be mints, probably private, that issue bullion for PM investors but bullion will not be typically used for standard transactions. The barter system has its limits when you are paying for a mortgage.
Short of a global catastrophe, man-made or natural, that disables our current electronic interconnected banking system, the days of government issued cash are numbered.
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Posted 11/29/2018 1:14 pm
I read everything from the intellectual to sci-fi. 
Now you can swipe your cellphone to pay for your latte.
Automatic bank drafts to pay bills. Paypal to buy online. Flea markets? Most vendors have the ability to swipe cards on their phones now. Etc, etc, etc.
