When I was living in Japan I’d have to carry all these coins with me. They had coins for 1 dollar bills and 5 dollar bills. Can you imagine 4 single dollar bills in coins plus all the other coins you already have. Throw in a fat 5 dollar bill coin too and your wallet would be stuffed! You’re now ready to sink to the bottom of the ocean.
Along time ago we switched from gold coins to paper money. At least the majority of the world went to mostly paper money. One dollar bill equaled the equivalent amount in gold. And then someone came along and decided that paper money no longer needed to equal the same amount in gold. Now we have FIAT currency. Sounds like a car, but it’s not. If you’re curious about the details on all this then head on over here for all the money answers.