The current 100 yen coin is one of two denominations that depict the emperor's rule date in Arabic numerals rather than kanji.

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.

To commemorate the summer 1964 Olympics in Tokyo 16 million ounces of silver was used to strike the 80,000,000 coins produced.

[4] Minting 100 yen coins was profitable up into the mid-1960s until the worldwide price for silver bullion began to rise.

[6] The current design of the 100 yen coin debuted in 1967, and features sakura blossoms and the denomination in Japanese.

[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.

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 mint at the time stated that a higher value coin was needed for use in vending machines.

Coins for this period all use Arabic numerals for a date, and begin with the Japanese symbol 平成 (Heisei).