Amazon Coins, the new virtual currency from Amazon that was announced back in February, makes its public debut today. It’s available to Kindle Fire owners who use the Amazon Appstore to download their digital content, and every user in the United States gets 500 coins — worth $5 — free to get them started.

Kindle Fire owners can use Amazon Coins to purchase apps, games, and in-app items from the Amazon Appstore. Amazon sees this as an “easy” alternative to real cash, and it hopes that the virtual currency will “drive traffic, downloads and increased monetization.”

Which is why the retail giant has handed out tens of millions of dollars worth of coins for free. With 500 to get you started, Amazon hopes that once it gets you spending, you’ll continue to do so. The company is even offering customers a 10% discount when they buy Amazon Coins in bulk.

“Today we are giving Kindle Fire owners $5 worth of Coins to spend on new apps and games, or to purchase in-app items, such as recipes in iCookbook, song collections in SongPop or mighty falcon bundles in Angry Birds Star Wars,” said Mike George, Amazon’s Vice President of Apps and Games.

“And with discounts of up to 10% when you buy Coins, this is a great way for customers to save money when they buy apps, games and in-app items. We will continue to add more ways to earn and spend Coins on a wider range of content and activities-today is Day One for Coins.”

I first wondered what the point of Amazon Coins really was; why not just keep things simple and use real cash? But it makes a lot of sense when you think about it. Not only can Amazon encourage customers to spend more with attractive discounts, but it and third-party developers can also use them as incentives.

If you’re a Kindle Fire owner, look out for your free 500 coins today.

• SourceAmazon