"Ronald Raygun" wrote
I don't think so.
"Ronald Raygun" wrote
No, I'm not forgetting that at all.
If you look carefully above, you'll notice that I pointed out that the physical loss/destruction risks for the 'plastic card' system could be designed to be *much* lower than the similar risks to coins/notes.
The 'plastic card' would have a small fire-proof layer around the important bit inside which holds the "value" - avoiding the problem of fire damage (if caught in a fire with the external parts damaged, the internals could then simply be transferred to a new "skeleton" 'plastic card', preserving its value).
The 'plastic card' would, of course, be water-proof.
The 'plastic card' would not be circular (as coins generally are) and so will not be at risk of rolling away & down drains or into crevices from which it cannot be retrieved.
The 'plastic card' would have security features to make it much harder for someone else to use it (fingerprints / PIN / etc etc) - so a reward could be offered if it is lost and the finder would be more likely to return it (rather than spend the money themselves, as could be easily done with current coins & notes).