I expect coins and currency to cease being produced in the United States within the next 25 years, perhaps sooner, and throughout the world within 35 years. In our information age, it will simply become easier not to use them. And more prudent, since coins and currency are a vector for disease.
We are already moving in the direction of a cashless society, as more and more transactions involve little more than the movement of digital information. What we call money has no intrinsic value and is backed by little beyond our faith in the government. What would happen if coins and currency stopped being used? Let's look at the issue from several angles.

Billions of dollars in United States currency are now circulating, often as the money of preference in foreign countries. If our currency were to be demonetized, what might happen in these nations is a complicated and fascinating topic, extending well beyond the intended scope of this column. Without a doubt, profound economic changes would occur, some of them detrimental to our government and to the value of the dollar.

Still, most of the effects would be positive.

It costs both the public and the private sectors of our economy millions of dollars each year to produce and process cash. Legitimate businesses now obliged to handle large amounts of cash would welcome the elimination of coins and currency as money. Eliminating currency might hamper traffic in illegal drugs, unregistered guns, and a wide variety of stolen goods. Those who skim money from receipts to avoid paying taxes would find such activities much more difficult. Furthermore, the best way to reduce violent crime is to eliminate its motivation, and untraceable money is a pretty common motivator. I can't imagine a single convenience store owner or employee who would miss accepting currency, nor would bank tellers mourn its loss.

Some might suggest that the average citizen would be inconvenienced. How, for example, would underage drinkers pay for their Saturday night six packs? We'd have to redesign parking meters and vending machines to accept electronic money. Besides, taking the folding stuff away might jeopardize our individual freedom and independence.

If our money were any more than a symbol of wealth, and if it possessed actual redemption value in precious metals, I might agree. In fact, governments produce coins and currency as a convenience to the public and a way to expand control and influence. So eliminating circulating legal tender might have the opposite effect.

The overall effect such a discontinuation will have on rare coin prices is anyone's guess, though I tend to think it will be more positive than negative. Eliminating money that has no intrinsic worth might actually prompt some motivated citizens to acquire "hard" mediums of exchange in the form of gold and silver coins. So if you have a shoebox or suitcase full of cash set aside, now might be a good time to convert it into more tangible assets with universally accepted value. Or at least to go spend it on something fun.