Coronavirus diary, Wednesday 17 June

Cash in the past: the pre-decimal threepence piece

Do you think cash has a future?

A long debated subject, becoming more relevant with the pandemic.

At the height of the lockdown, cooped up indoors, not allowed even to pop along to the corner shop, we could not spend a penny. 

Yesterday there were queues at the newly opened stores in England, shoppers coming away with bulging bags. Most had not paid by cash.

Dirty coins were dangerous, and with the fear of coronavirus still potent that will surely be the trend. If the end of our cash society is nigh it will be the end of a long road. 

Coins were introduced in the 5th or 6th centuries BC - the date is uncertain. Notes followed, the first £1 in 1797. 

Over the centuries  they became the economic basis of countries throughout the world.

Many favourite notes and coins disappeared - remember  farthings, guineas, sixpences, our £1 note?

A penny coin proved the most expensive so far - £72,000 at auction for a 1933 George V coin, made by the Royal Mint of which only a handful were made for ceremonial purposes.

The first £1 million cheque was signed, no doubt with a flourish, in 1904 at  the  Coal Exchange in Cardiff, then the hub of the international coal trade.

The biggest development for centuries came in 1971, the introduction of decimal currency. The 1980s saw an equally  significant innovation, debit cards, joining their 1960s wallet companion, the credit card.

The deluge of spending increased even faster when we discovered the joy of getting money from 'holes in the walls', ATM machines. 

Two years ago there were 65,000 in the UK, since when 5,000 have been removed, an 8% drop, and with more banks closing the decline will continue.

Spending our hard earned money has now been made even easier, with cards and smart phones. No need ever to dip into our pockets or purses. 

The revolution has made life easier, too, for the shopkeepers, from supermarkets to corner stores, and safer, although there are rich pickings for fraudsters and scammers via the internet.  

I would not regret the passing of our notes and coins. 

Over the past year I have not needed to spend any as my care home fees are inclusive.

I have added to Amazon's billions by regular buys painlessly deducted from my account. Other payment methods, including PayPal, make it convenient and safe to part with your cash.

I  am looking forward to getting out on my scooter after lockdown to go shopping - by card. 

Royal Mint staff from London visit the site of the new Mint in Wales

Another step towards the death of cash, and perhaps, in time, the closure of Britain's Royal Mint at Llantrisant.