Japan Sees Fewer Coins in Use

Yet another casualty of technology may be traditional coinage. In Japan, digital cash and credit cards have apparently led to history's first decrease of the number of coins in use (by 0.05% in July).

Aside from the demise of a currency that's been around since antiquity, this drop shows that, in Japan at least, purchases of even very small items are being made digitally. The implications of this are huge, for it suggests an electronic "paper trail" through which purchases of all sorts can be tracked and monitored.

Sources: Smart Mobs, RFID in Japan