Quite a few friends, mostly female, have asked me why most men's wallets do not have a compartment for coins when it's so common to find one in a ladies' wallet. They made this observation when they're choosing a wallet as a gift for a guy.

The reason is simple: Coins make a wallet bulky. And unlike women, we don't carry a handbag wherever we go. Since we don't have a handbag to keep our wallet, we usually tuck it in the front pocket of our shirt or the front/back pocket of our pants.

If the wallet's too bulky, we'll have a hard time trying to put it into our pockets. And it's a nightmare trying to take it out. It's especially embarassing when I'm trying to beat my friend to pay for drinks or dinner. I'll be shouting "Let me! Let me!" while I'm fumbling to extract my stuffed wallet from my back pocket. (And mine isn't filled with coins. It's simply stuffed with lots of receipts).

Other than making a wallet bulky, coins also make a wallet heavy. Putting a bulky and heavy wallet in the front or back pocket is just not very comfortable.

So if you're buying a wallet as a gift for a guy, go for one without a coin compartment. But if you know that he likes one with a coin compartment, there's still a decent selection out there.

Here's a few recommendations:

Cerruti 1881 wallet w/coin compartment
Mont Blanc lambskin wallet w/coin compartment
dunhill Sidecar Amber wallet w/coin compartment
Pierre Cardin wallet w/coin compartment