In the first scenario, private and public actors within the cash cycle take measures to ensure the adequate provision of cash in line with prevailing demand. As a result, the coin retains its current characteristics, encompassing both electronic and physical forms of payment. In the second scenario, the physical side of the coin increasingly starts to resemble the digital side.
In effect, the coin becomes one-sided. One-sided coins are not without historical precedent. Some 800 years ago, a variety of pfennig coinage dominated monetary circulation in Germanspeaking areas. Known as bracteates, these coins were embossed on one side and often hollow on the other. The relatively simple technique employed to make them was also reflected in their limited function as a store of value.