While I was traveling two weeks ago, I got a call from Chase to tell me that my debit card has been compromised and they were monitoring my account for suspicious transactions. This meant they were also placing pretty strict limits on my daily ATM and transaction limits. An inconvenience? Sure. But not a disaster.

Still, as I activated my replacement debit card on Saturday and slipped the shiny blue card into my wallet, I couldn’t help but wonder how much longer I’d be carrying a card or even a wallet at all!

As Google Wallet and other electronic check-out options gain acceptance, it’s really just a matter of time before hard currency and debit and credit cards become a thing of the past. And when that happens, our phones will become our wallets.

Ironically, as a collector, I know that paying attention to the future is what gives you an edge in collecting the past. It’s important to pay attention to items that will become obsolete because it’s these same objects that tend to hold value for collectors in the future.

I mention this just in case you need one more rationalization to covet today’s VPOD.

This Yves Saint Laurent wallet, which looks like a hand-addressed envelope to one of Paris’s most fashionable addresses, will make every one of your purchases a luxurious experience. And it’s bound to become a collector’s item as our culture replaces it and friends like it with virtual wallets.

Plus there’s something so interesting in this depiction of an obsolete form of communication (letters) with a soon-to-be obsolete object (wallet) once used to hold soon-to-be obsolete forms of payment (cash and credit cards).

It’s a chic and shiny find for a Vintage Crusader!

Available at Shrimpton Couture.

(Photo Credit for Ruby Slippers: Profiles in History | To receive the VPOD free via email with detailed size and price information, sign up for the growing email mailing list here. Your information will never be sold or shared and you can easily unsubscribe at any time.)