The is a denomination of Japanese yen. These coins were first minted in 1957 using a silver alloy, before the current design was adopted with an alloy change in 1967. It is the second-highest denomination coin in Japan, after the 500 yen coin. The current 100 yen coin is one of two denominations that depict the emperor's rule date in Arabic numerals rather than kanji.
History Silver yen 100 yen coinage was first authorized in 1951 with the specification that the coins be made of a silver alloy. These were first minted for circulation in 1957 and feature 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. The "100 yen" bill hence became a substitute to the coin as the two were allowed to co-circulate. The design of the coin was later 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 collector's items. Minting 100 yen coins was profitable up into the mid-1960s until the worldwide price for silver bullion began to rise. The Japanese government had planned on producing 800 million silver coins over a 10-year span, but the amount of silver held was insufficient. Silver was dropped from the coinage in 1967, which led to coin hoarding and silver smuggling outside of the country for melting.
Cupronickel yen The 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 US$3 an ounce, prompting a "coin retirement" plan by the government. On August 1, 1974, 100-yen notes were withdrawn from circulation, but notes dated after World War II were allowed to retain their legal tender status. The amount of coins produced then decreased from the mid to late 1970s as a possible attempt to control economic inflation. 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. By the late 1970s into the early 1980s a myth was established that tied the amount of coins produced with the growing popularity of the arcade game industry, particularly the 1978 game Space Invaders. 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.
Production of the 100 yen coin dropped going into the mid-1980s 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. 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. 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. Denominations of 1, 5, 10, and 500 yen were given priority over 50 and 100 yen coins. By the mid-1990s 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. The 100 yen coin continues to be produced as the second-highest denomination of yen coinage.
Designs Image Minted Diameter Weight Composition Design 1957–1958 22.6 mm 4.8g 60% silver, 30% copper, 10% zinc Phoenix 1959–1966 60% silver, 30% copper, 10% zinc Sheaf of rice 1967– 75% copper, 25% nickel Sakura
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. When these coins were first made they used Kanji script to represent the date. The current one-hundred yen coin dates to 1967 (year 42) when Arabic numerals were used to reflect the emperor's year of reign (date). 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 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 40th 四十 1965 62,500,000 41st 四十一 1966 97,500,000 42nd N/A 1967 432,200,000 43rd 1968 471,000,000 44th 1969 323,700,000 45th 1970 237,100,000 46th 1971 481,050,000 47th 1972 468,950,000 48th 1973 680,000,000 49th 1974 660,000,000 50th 1975 437,160,000 51st 1976 322,840,000 52nd 1977 440,000,000 53rd 1978 292,000,000 54th 1979 382,000,000 55th 1980 588,000,000 56th 1981 348,000,000 57th 1982 110,000,000 58th 1983 50,000,000 59th 1984 41,850,000 60th 1985 58,150,000 61st 1986 99,960,000 62nd 1987 193,775,000 63rd 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 use Arabic numerals for a date, and 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 Gregorian date Mintage 1st (元) 1989 369,000,000 2nd 1990 444,953,000 3rd 1991 375,120,000 4th 1992 211,130,000 5th 1993 82,240,000 6th 1994 81,767,000 7th 1995 92,874,000 8th 1996 237,213,000 9th 1997 272,086,000 10th 1998 252,612,000 11th 1999 179,120,000 12th 2000 172,026,000 13th 2001 8,024,000 14th 2002 10,667,000 15th 2003 98,406,000 16th 2004 204,903,000 17th 2005 300,029,000 18th 2006 216,594,000 19th 2007 129,904,000 20th 2008 93,811,000 21st 2009 115,003,000 22nd 2010 67,905,000 23rd 2011 178,936,000 24th 2012 402,211,000 25th 2013 608,892,000 26th 2014 445,013,000 27th 2015 410,004,000 28th 2016 461,064,000 29th 2017 518,927,000 30th 2018 567,960,000 31st 2019 302,006,000
Reiwa The following are circulation dates in the reign of the current Emperor. Naruhito's accession to the Chrysanthemum 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).
Japanese coins are read with a left to right format: "Emperors name" → "Number representing year of reign" → "Year" (Ex: 令和 → 3 → 年).
Year of reign Gregorian date Mintage 1st (元) 2019 58,614,000 2nd 2020 453,428,000 3rd 2021 366,133,000 4th 2022 293,274,000 5th 2023 192,927,000 6th 2024 163,827,000 7th 2025 104,071,000 8th 2026 TBD
Commemoratives
Image Japanese date Gregorian date Mintage Reason 39Shōwa 1964 80,000,000 1964 Summer Olympics 45Shōwa 1970 40,000,000 Expo 70 in Osaka 47Shōwa 1972 30,000,000 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo 50Shōwa 1975 120,000,000 Expo '75 in Okinawa 51Shōwa 1976 70,000,000 Golden Jubilee of Emperor Hirohito 27Heisei 2015 2,324,000 50th Anniversary of the inauguration of the Tōkaidō Shinkansen train service.The Tōkaidō Shinkansen commemorative coin series (Tōkaidō Shinkansen N700A) Japan Mint (www.mint.go.jp). Retrieved on 2017-10-05. 28Heisei 2016 2,324,000 50th Anniversary of the inauguration of the Tōkaidō Shinkansen train service. 30Heisei 2018 Unknown 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics (First Issue) 30Heisei 2018 Unknown 2020 Tokyo Summer Paralympics (First Issue) 31Heisei 2019 19,740,000 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics (Second Issue) 31Heisei 2019 3,948,000 2020 Tokyo Summer Paralympics (Second Issue) 元 (1)Reiwa 2019 11,844,000 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics (Third Issue) 元 (1)Reiwa 2019 7,896,000 2020 Tokyo Summer Paralympics (Third Issue) 2Reiwa 2020 11,844,000 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics (Fourth Issue) 2Reiwa 2020 7,896,000 2020 Tokyo Summer Paralympics (Fourth Issue)
Notes
References