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100 yen coin

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This article is about the current 100 yen coin. For the former 100 yen banknote, see 100 yen note.
One hundred yen
Japan
Value100 Japanese yen
Mass4.8 g
Diameter22.6 mm
Shapecircular
CompositionCopper 75%, nickel 25%
Years of mintingDecember 11, 1957–present
Obverse
DesignSakura blossoms
Design dateFebruary 1, 1967
Reverse
Design"100" in Arabic numerals
Design dateFebruary 1, 1967

The 100 yen coin (百円硬貨, Hyaku-en kōka) 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.[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 that depict the emperor's rule date in Arabic numerals rather than kanji.

History

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Silver yen

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100 yen coinage was first authorized in 1951 with the specification that the coins be made of a silver alloy.[2] 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.[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 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 collectors items.[4] 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,[a] 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

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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.[7] 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.[8] The amount of coins produced then decreased from the mid to late 1970s 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 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.[10][11]

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.[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-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.[13] The 100 yen coin continues to be produced as the second-highest denomination of yen coinage.

Designs

[edit]
Image Minted[14] Diameter[14] Weight[14] Composition[3] 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

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Shōwa

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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[3][b]
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[c]
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

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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[3][b]
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

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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).[16]

  • 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[3][b]
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 TBD

Commemoratives

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Image Japanese date Gregorian date Mintage Reason
39
Shōwa[d] 		1964 80,000,000[17] 1964 Summer Olympics[18]
45
Shōwa 		1970 40,000,000[19] Expo 70 in Osaka[18]
47
Shōwa 		1972 30,000,000[20] 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo[18]
50
Shōwa 		1975 120,000,000[21] Expo '75 in Okinawa[18]
51
Shōwa 		1976 70,000,000[22] Golden Jubilee of Emperor Hirohito[18]
27
Heisei[e] 		2015 2,324,000[f] 50th Anniversary of the inauguration of the Tōkaidō Shinkansen train service.[23]
28
Heisei 		2016 2,324,000[f] 50th Anniversary of the inauguration of the Tōkaidō Shinkansen train service.
30
Heisei 		2018 Unknown 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics (First Issue)[24][25]
30
Heisei 		2018 Unknown 2020 Tokyo Summer Paralympics (First Issue)[24][25]
31
Heisei 		2019 19,740,000[g] 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics (Second Issue)[27]
31
Heisei 		2019 3,948,000[26] 2020 Tokyo Summer Paralympics (Second Issue)[27]
元 (1)
Reiwa 		2019 11,844,000[h] 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics (Third Issue)[28][29]
元 (1)
Reiwa 		2019 7,896,000[i] 2020 Tokyo Summer Paralympics (Third Issue)[28][29]
2
Reiwa 		2020 11,844,000[j] 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics (Fourth Issue)[30]
2
Reiwa 		2020 7,896,000[j] 2020 Tokyo Summer Paralympics (Fourth Issue)[30]

Notes

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  1. ^ Post-1964
  2. ^ a b c 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.[15]
  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. ^ a b These coins came in a set of four featuring a different train on each obverse.
  7. ^ 5 different obverse designs were used (karate pictured here) that have an individual mintage of 3,948,000 each.[26]
  8. ^ 3 coin set (archery pictured here) with 3,948,000 per coin[28]
  9. ^ 2 coin set (archery pictured here) with 3,948,000 per coin[28]
  10. ^ a b The 2020 Olympics fourth issue was a 4 coin set (Miraitowa pictured here), while the Paralympics features a 3 coin set (Someity pictured here).[30]

References

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  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. Vol. 168. Western & Company. 1967. p. 104.
  3. ^ a b c d e "年銘別貨幣製造枚数【令和5年銘】" (PDF) (in Japanese). Japan Mint. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. Vol. 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. ^ a b Andrew Williams (2017). History of Digital Games: Developments in Art, Design and Interaction. CRC Press. p. 75. ISBN 9781317503811.
  7. ^ Economic Analysis of the Silver Industry. National Technical Information Service. 1969. pp. 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. ISBN 9783030325947.
  11. ^ a b c Fox, Mark (2012). "Space Invaders targets coins". World Coin News. 39 (2). Krause Publications: 35–37. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  12. ^ a b "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. ^ a b c "その他有効な銀行券・貨幣". Ministry of Finance (in Japanese). Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  15. ^ "Japan 100 Yen Y# 78 Yr.39(1964)". Numismatic Guaranty Corporation. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  16. ^ Shinpei Ide (April 3, 2019). "Japanese coins engraved with new era name 'Reiwa' likely to debut after summer". Mainichi Shimbun. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  17. ^ "Japan 100 Yen Y# 79 Yr.39/1964". Numismatic Guaranty Corporation. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  18. ^ a b c d e "Commemorative Coins List". Ministry of Finance (Japan). Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  19. ^ "Japan 100 Yen Y# 83 Yr.45(1970)". Numismatic Guaranty Corporation. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  20. ^ "Japan 100 Yen Y# 84 Yr.47/1972". Numismatic Guaranty Corporation. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  21. ^ "Japan 100 Yen Y# 85 Yr.50(1975)". Numismatic Guaranty Corporation. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  22. ^ "Japan 100 Yen Y# 86 Yr.51(1976)". Numismatic Guaranty Corporation. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  23. ^ The Tōkaidō Shinkansen commemorative coin series (Tōkaidō Shinkansen N700A) Japan Mint (www.mint.go.jp). Retrieved on 2017-10-05.
  24. ^ a b "Designs of The Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 Commemorative Coin Program (First Issue)". Ministry of Finance (Japan). Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  25. ^ a b "Outline of the 100-yen Clad Coins" (PDF). Ministry of Finance (Japan). Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  26. ^ a b "Outline of the 100-yen Clad Coins (second issue)" (PDF). Ministry of Finance (Japan). Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  27. ^ a b "Designs of The Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 Commemorative Coin Program (Second Issue)". Ministry of Finance (Japan). Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  28. ^ a b c d "Designs of The Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 Commemorative Coin Program (Third Issue)". Ministry of Finance (Japan). Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  29. ^ a b "Outline of the 100-yen Clad Coins (third issue)" (PDF). Ministry of Finance (Japan). Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  30. ^ a b c "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.
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