100 yen coin

The 100 yen coin (百円硬貨, Hyaku-en kōka) is a denomination of Japanese yen. The current design was first minted in silver in 1959 and saw a change of metal in 1967.[1] It is the second-highest denomination coin in Japan after the 500 yen coin. The current 100 yen coin is one of two denominations which depict the emperor's rule date in Arabic numerals rather than Kanji. These numbers go from "昭和42" Shōwa, 42nd year of reign (1967) to "令和2" Reiwa, 2nd year of reign (2020).

This article is about the current 100 yen coin. For the former 100 yen banknote, see 100 yen note.

One hundred yen

Japan
Value	100 Japanese yen
Mass	4.8 g
Diameter	22.6 mm
Shape	circular
Composition	Copper 75%, Nickel 25%
Years of minting	1957–present
Obverse
Design	Sakura blossoms
Design date	1967
Reverse
Design	"100" in Arabic numerals
Design date	1967

History

Silver yen

100 yen coinage was first authorized in 1951 with the specification that the coins be made of a silver alloy.[2] The first coins were minted for circulation in 1957 which featured a phoenix on the reverse. The alloy decided upon consisted of 60% silver, 30% copper, and 10% zinc and came at a time when banknotes of the same denomination were already in circulation.[3] The "100 yen" bill hence became a substitute to the coin as the two were allowed to co-circulate.[4] The design of the coin was changed in 1959 which removed Latin script ("Yen"), and changed the reverse side to show a sheaf of rice. To commemorate the summer 1964 Olympics in Tokyo 16 million ounces of silver was used to strike the 80,000,000 coins produced. None of these coins were recorded as ever going into circulation as they were grabbed and stored away as collectors items.[4] The usage of silver worldwide for coinage was about to take a turn though, as the price of the bullion increased dramatically. The Japanese government had planned on producing 800 million silver coins over a 10 year span[lower-alpha 1], but the amount of silver held was insufficient.[5] Silver was dropped from the coinage in 1967, which led to coin hoarding and silver smuggling outside of the country for melting.[6]

Cupronickel yen

The new and current design of the 100 yen coin debuted in 1967, and features sakura blossoms and the denomination in Japanese. A new alloy of 75% copper and 25% nickel (cupronickel) was decided upon to replace the former silver alloy. It was reported that by 1969 the monetary value in the old silver coins was $3 (USD) an ounce, prompting a "coin retirement" plan by the government.[7] On August 1, 1974 one hundred yen notes were withdrawn from circulation, but post World War II dated notes were allowed to retain their legal tender status.[8] The amount of coins produced then decreased from the mid to late 1970's as a possible attempt to control economic inflation.[6] The issuance of the new 100 yen coin has also been cited as a factor in the rapid spread of vending machines during this decade.[9] By the late 1970's into the early 1980's a myth was established that tied the amount of coins produced with the growing popularity of the arcade game industry. While there were reports of Japanese cities briefly running out of 100 yen coins, arcade operators would have emptied out their machines and taken the money back to the bank which kept the coins circulating.[10][11]

Production of the 100 yen coin dropped going into the mid 1980's due to various proposed reasoning. Japan at the time had been in economic decline caused in part by trade tensions with other countries that were competing with Japanese exports.[11] The Japanese government was trying to deflate the yen, and achieve more imports and less exports. Another explanation put forward is the introduction of the 500 yen coin in 1982. The Japanese mint at the time stated that a higher value coin was needed for use in vending machines.[11] In any case mintage figures recovered towards the very end of Emperor Shōwa's reign. No coins were minted in 1989 (year 64) as molds needed to make coins for Akihito had already begun.[12] Denominations of 1, 5, 10, and 500 yen were given priority over 50 and 100 yen coins.[12] By the mid 1990's 100-yen shops were expanding into retail chains, these "shops" are akin to American dollar stores. Coin production remained unhindered during the early years of Akihito's reign until the millennium, when 500 yen coins were turned out in record numbers. The offset caused low mintage numbers which included only 8,024,000 pieces struck in 2001, a record low for the series.[13] The '100 yen" coin continues to be produced to the present day as the second-highest denomination of yen coinage.

Composition

Years	Material[3]
1957-1966	60% silver, 30% copper, 10% zinc
1967–Present	75% copper, 25% nickel

Designs

• 
  Phoenix design (1957–1958)
• 
  Sheaf of rice design (1959–1966)
• 
  Sakura design (1967–present)

Circulation figures

Shōwa

The following are circulation dates which cover Emperor Hirohito's reign. The dates below correspond with the 32nd to the 64th year (last) of his reign. One hundred yen coins had three main different designs, but there was no overlap in mintage between them. Coins for this period will all begin with the Japanese symbol 昭和 (Shōwa).

• Japanese coins are read with a left to right format:

"Emperors name" → "Number representing year of reign" → "Year" (Ex: 昭和 → 53 → 年).

Year of reign	Japanese date	Gregorian date	Mintage[3][lower-alpha 2]
32nd	三十二	1957	30,000,000
33rd	三十三	1958	70,000,000
34th	三十四	1959	110,000,000
35th	三十五	1960	50,000,000
36th	三十六	1961	15,000,000
38th	三十八	1963	45,000,000
39th	三十九	1964	10,000,000[lower-alpha 3]
40th	四十	1965	62,500,000
41st	四十一	1966	97,500,000
42nd	四十二	1967	432,200,000
43rd	四十三	1968	471,000,000
44th	四十四	1969	323,700,000
45th	四十五	1970	237,100,000
46th	四十六	1971	481,050,000
47th	四十七	1972	468,950,000
48th	四十八	1973	680,000,000
49th	四十九	1974	660,000,000
50th	五十	1975	437,160,000
51st	五十一	1976	322,840,000
52nd	五十二	1977	440,000,000
53rd	五十三	1978	292,000,000
54th	五十四	1979	382,000,000
55th	五十五	1980	588,000,000
56th	五十六	1981	348,000,000
57th	五十七	1982	110,000,000
58th	五十八	1983	50,000,000
59th	五十九	1984	41,850,000
60th	六十	1985	58,150,000
61st	六十一	1986	99,960,000
62nd	六十二	1987	193,775,000
63rd	六十三	1988	363,112,000

Heisei

The following are circulation dates during the reign of Emperor Akihito. who was crowned in 1989. The dates below correspond with the 1st to the 31st year (last) of his reign. First year of reign coins are marked with a 元 symbol (first) as a one year type. Coins for this period all begin with the Japanese symbol 平成 (Heisei).

• Japanese coins are read with a left to right format:

"Emperors name" → "Number representing year of reign" → "Year" (Ex: 平成 → 16 → 年).

Year of reign	Japanese date	Gregorian date	Mintage[3][lower-alpha 2]
1st	元	1989	369,000,000
2nd	二	1990	444,953,000
3rd	三	1991	375,120,000
4th	四	1992	211,130,000
5th	五	1993	82,240,000
6th	六	1994	81,767,000
7th	七	1995	92,874,000
8th	八	1996	237,213,000
9th	九	1997	272,086,000
10th	十	1998	252,612,000
11th	十一	1999	179,120,000
12th	十二	2000	172,026,000
13th	十三	2001	8,024,000
14th	十四	2002	10,667,000
15th	十五	2003	98,406,000
16th	十六	2004	204,903,000
17th	十七	2005	300,029,000
18th	十八	2006	216,594,000
19th	十九	2007	129,904,000
20th	二十	2008	93,811,000
21st	二十一	2009	115,003,000
22nd	二十二	2010	67,905,000
23rd	二十三	2011	178,936,000
24th	二十四	2012	402,211,000
25th	二十五	2013	608,892,000
26th	二十六	2014	445,013,000
27th	二十七	2015	410,004,000
28th	二十八	2016	461,064,000
29th	二十九	2017	518,927,000
30th	三十	2018	567,960,000
31st	三十一	2019	302,006,000

Reiwa

The following are circulation dates in the reign of the current Emperor. Naruhito's accession to the Crysanthemum Throne took place on May 1, 2019 and he was formally enthroned on October 22, 2019. Coins for this period all begin with the Japanese symbol 令和 (Reiwa). The inaugural year coin (2019) is marked 元 (first).[15]

Year of reign	Japanese date	Gregorian date	Mintage[3][lower-alpha 2]
1st	元	2019	58,614,000
2nd	二	2020	TBD

Commemoratives

Image	Japanese date	Gregorian date	Mintage	Reason
	三十九 (39) Shōwa[lower-alpha 4]	1964	80,000,000[16]	1964 Summer Olympics[17]
	四十五 (45) Shōwa	1970	40,000,000[18]	Expo 70 in Osaka[17]
	四十七 (47) Shōwa	1972	30,000,000[19]	1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo[17]
	五十 (50) Shōwa	1975	120,000,000[20]	Expo '75 in Okinawa[17]
	五十一 (51) Shōwa	1976	70,000,000[21]	Golden Jubilee of Emperor Hirohito[17]
	二十七 (27) Heisei[lower-alpha 5]	2015	2,324,000[lower-alpha 6]	50th Anniversary of the inauguration of the Tōkaidō Shinkansen train service.[22]
N/A	三十 (30) Heisei	2018	Unknown	2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics (First Issue)[23][24]
N/A	三十 (30) Heisei	2018	Unknown	2020 Tokyo Summer Paralympics (First Issue)[23][24]
N/A	三十一 (31) Heisei	2019	3,948,000[lower-alpha 7]	2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics (Second Issue)[25][26]
N/A	三十一 (31) Heisei	2019	3,948,000	2020 Tokyo Summer Paralympics (Second Issue)[25][26]
N/A	元 (1) Reiwa	2019	3,948,000[lower-alpha 7]	2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics (Third Issue)[27][28]
N/A	元 (1) Reiwa	2019	3,948,000[lower-alpha 7]	2020 Tokyo Summer Paralympics (Third Issue)[27][28]
N/A	二 (2) Reiwa	2020	3,948,000[lower-alpha 7]	2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics (Fourth Issue)[29]
N/A	二 (2) Reiwa	2020	3,948,000[lower-alpha 7]	2020 Tokyo Summer Paralympics (Fourth Issue)[29]

Notes

1. Post-1964
2. Mintages on the Japan Mint website are in thousands
3. These were not issued as commemorative coins, those made for the Olympics can be found in their own section.[14]
4. 39th year of Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito)'s reign, Emperor Heisei (Akihito) was not crowned emperor until 1989
5. 27th year of Emperor Heisei (Akihito)'s reign
6. These coins came in a set of four, and all have a different obverse. The reverse side of the coin is shown in the picture.
7. Multiple different obverse designs were used that each have a mintage of 3,948,000.

References

1. "Operations Coins Currently Minted: Japan Mint". Japan Mint. Archived from the original on 18 October 2009. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
2. Engineering and Mining Journal. 168. Western & Company. 1967. p. 104.
3. "年銘別貨幣製造枚数" (PDF) (in Japanese). Japan Mint. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
4. Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. 111. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1965. p. 16556.
5. Reishi Aoyama (1982). The History and Collection Guide of the New Revised Currency Notebook and Japanese Coins. Bonanza.
6. Andrew Williams (2017). History of Digital Games: Developments in Art, Design and Interaction. CRC Press. p. 75.
7. Economic Analysis of the Silver Industry. National Technical Information Service. 1969. p. 6-19.
8. "Banknotes in Use but No Longer Issued". National Printing Bureau. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
9. "平成2年 国民生活白書 第II部 技術と生活 第1章 第2節 (10)". Cabinet Office (in Japanese). Economic Planning Agency. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
10. Dario Martinelli (2020). What You See Is What You Hear: Creativity and Communication in Audiovisual Texts. Springer Natur. p. 61.
11. Fox, Mark (2012). "Space Invaders targets coins". World Coin News. Krause Publications. 39 (2): 35–37. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
12. "Rare value? A flood of applications for "2019" currency! Surprising fact of "Showa 64" heard from the Mint". FNN (in Japanese). Retrieved April 14, 2020.
13. "13, Heisei 1 yen a year, 50 yen, 100 yen rare thing three kinds are unused". Rakuten. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
14. "Japan 100 Yen Y# 78 Yr.39(1964)". Numismatic Guaranty Corporation. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
15. Shinpei Ide (April 3, 2019). "Japanese coins engraved with new era name 'Reiwa' likely to debut after summer". Mainichi Shimbun. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
16. "Japan 100 Yen Y# 79 Yr.39/1964". Numismatic Guaranty Corporation. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
17. "Commemorative Coins List". Ministry of Finance (Japan). Retrieved April 6, 2020.
18. "Japan 100 Yen Y# 83 Yr.45(1970)". Numismatic Guaranty Corporation. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
19. "Japan 100 Yen Y# 84 Yr.47/1972". Numismatic Guaranty Corporation. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
20. "Japan 100 Yen Y# 85 Yr.50(1975)". Numismatic Guaranty Corporation. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
21. "Japan 100 Yen Y# 86 Yr.51(1976)". Numismatic Guaranty Corporation. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
22. The Tōkaidō Shinkansen commemorative coin series (Tōkaidō Shinkansen N700A) Japan Mint (www.mint.go.jp). Retrieved on 2017-10-05.
23. "Designs of The Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 Commemorative Coin Program (First Issue)". Ministry of Finance (Japan). Retrieved April 6, 2020.
24. "Outline of the 100-yen Clad Coins" (PDF). Ministry of Finance (Japan). Retrieved April 6, 2020.
25. "Designs of The Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 Commemorative Coin Program (Second Issue)". Ministry of Finance (Japan). Retrieved April 6, 2020.
26. "Outline of the 100-yen Clad Coins (second issue)" (PDF). Ministry of Finance (Japan). Retrieved April 6, 2020.
27. "Designs of The Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 Commemorative Coin Program (Third Issue)". Ministry of Finance (Japan). Retrieved April 6, 2020.
28. "Outline of the 100-yen Clad Coins (third issue)" (PDF). Ministry of Finance (Japan). Retrieved April 6, 2020.
29. "Designs of The Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 Commemorative Coin Program (Fourth Issue)". Ministry of Finance (Japan). November 29, 2019. Retrieved April 6, 2020.