The first car I drove when I came to America was a used Honda Accord.

At that time, it was cooler than a Benz or BMW to me.

True to Honda, it ran smoothly on the freeway, and I remember the audio and speakers being better than domestic cars at that time.

However, what stands out in my memory from that car is the 'coin holder' that was situated in the center console.

It had a coin holder that could fit quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies perfectly, and I quickly realized its usefulness.

I would naturally place the change I received after buying a hamburger at the drive-thru there.

When using the high-pressure washer at the self-car wash, taking out exactly four quarters would give me exactly 2 minutes of washing time.

It was even the necessary coins for parking meters on the street, and whether or not you had coins made a difference in how easy parking was back then.

The coin holder, which was within reach of my right hand while sitting in the driver's seat, was the epitome of convenience.

At that time, card payments were only used for large amounts, and everything from a cup of coffee, a hamburger, a car wash, to even getting a soda from a vending machine was done with coins.

So, I always needed change, and my wallet was always filled with a few one-dollar bills and coins.

But before I knew it, that coin holder disappeared. Nowadays, cars have USB ports in the center console, but no coin storage functionality.

With Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay, paying with a credit card is just a tap away.

Most car washes now have card readers installed, and at coffee shops, you can order through a mobile app and just pick it up.

As a result, there are times when I don't even have a single dollar bill or a coin in my wallet.

Recently, there was an incident. While waiting at a traffic signal near the highway entrance, a man holding a cardboard sign was standing there asking for help.

I was about to help him when I suddenly realized that I had no one-dollar bill or even a quarter in my wallet or car.

At that moment, I felt quite awkward. It wasn't because I had no money, but because I couldn't do anything without cash.

If it were back then, I would have handed him four or five quarters from the center console, but now I could only awkwardly look away and pass by.

When I opened my car console, I found a few parking tickets, old receipts, and a tangled USB charging cable, but that old coin holder was gone.

And suddenly, I felt that just the disappearance of that small holder marked the end of a warm era.

Of course, things are more convenient now. I can buy coffee, wash my car, and park using an app without taking my wallet out.

But somehow... I miss the feeling of holding something small and heavy in my hand.

These days, kids might hold a quarter or a penny and ask, "What do you use this for?"

Today, I leave home with a wallet without cash and just a smartphone, but sometimes I long for the days when that coin holder existed....