Over recent years, we’ve seen iPads and other Point-of-Sale systems steadily replacing traditional cash registers. The transformation is swift, but if you visit a quaint, cash-only artisanal cocktail bar, you’re likely to spot one of these vintage machines still in action.

In the early days, mechanical cash registers were purely mechanical and didn’t even print receipts. Each sale required the employee to ring up the transaction, and when they pressed the total key, the cash drawer would pop open with a ‘ding’ to notify the manager. These machines were essentially simple adding devices.