Depicts the “raspberry-red” butterfly set against a “grass green” field on the niobium inner disc. The green field behind the butterfly is actually patterned much like the scales of a butterfly’s wing when viewed close-up. Also on the inner disc, above and between the butterfly’s antennae, is a depiction of an atomic model as conceived by Danish physicist Niels Bohr. The nucleus and three revolving electrons are colored the same red as the butterfly, while the orbits are a lighter green than the field. A molecular model crosses over from the left of the outer ring and is partially hidden by the butterfly’s left wing. The year 2017 is inscribed beneath the butterfly in a font resembling one that may be used on an older computer terminal.

The outer ring is divided into a number of uneven sectors and contains a larger variety of designs and textures. Starting on the left, the inscription “Republic of Austria” occupies and extends past the top left quadrant.

On the top of the coin, after the word “Österreich” is an image of a butterfly’s wing. Proceeding clockwise from this image moves the viewer’s eye through sections that represent progressively higher magnifications of the same object until finally, at the bottom of the obverse, individual cells. The biological machinery of an animal cell is portrayed on the outer silver ring beneath the date 2017.

The central disc shows a close-up of the surface of pollen. Within one of the cells is a realistic portrayal of a bee, its physiognomy accurate enough to confirm that it is a female. To the right of the bee is a 3D model of a chemical compound that resembles that of methane (CH4). Below the bee is a pollen grain. Behind the bee, however, are what look like the marks on a ruler, with numbers ranging from “1” to “2.5”.

Beginning in the upper left quadrant is a length of some form of measuring tool, perhaps a protractor since the units are marked off in degrees (by tens, from 10 to 80). To the left of the “protractor” is the inscription MIKROKOSMOS, surrounded by various solid and dotted lines.

Beneath the inscription MIKROKOSMOS is a partial hexagon with what appears to be a rhinovirus, or cold virus, inside. A number of small shapes that may be pollen or viruses are massed together in the lower right of the reverse alongside various chemical, viral and bacterial shapes. To the left of these shapes is a larger pollen particle, and above it is a four-stage depiction of the division of a cell into two daughter cells.