cash: Carrying cash ‘n’ coins

Being cashless is preferred by more and more people. Which is why having cash – and coins – is also growing as the latest personal monetary policy statement among the currency cognoscenti. The tactile pleasures of handling notes and coins have a unique appeal that transcends technological advances.

For starters, there’s the sensory satisfaction in the rustle and the clinking. The different sizes, textures and designs of various denominations bring to the owner’s fingers a multisensory experience in a way that digital transactions simply cannot replicate.

Also, if not carrying cash was once a style statement of the wealthy, the opposite holds true now. Along with the little joys of status flashing, there is the subtle signalling that you have a strong sense of financial awareness and responsibility.

Cash holds a delightful aesthetic appeal. Hold up a note and there’s a small, foldable artwork you carry in your pocket that goes beyond commerce. While coins remind us that metal holds the original mettle of transactional value.