Depicts a rose, inspired from a coin minted by the ancient city of Rhodes, one of the most characteristic coins of the Dodecanese, with stylised waves fanning out from the centre. Surrounded by the inscription THE UNION OF DODECANESE WITH GREECE and the HELLENIC REPUBLIC surrounded by the mintmark (stylized acanthus leaf, Athens) and the monogram of the engraver (ΣΤΑΜ, Georgios Stamatopoulos). The twelve stars of the European Union surround the design on the outer ring.

Rhodes, the largest of the Dodecanese islands, used a rose as their symbol. These symbols were also used in other forms of art, in addition to coinage, such as in stamps of amphorae. The rose refers to Rhodes as a canting symbol (making a pun of the name).

A geographical map of Western Europe spans the outer ring and inner core on the right side of the coin. The inscription 2 EURO is superimposed over the map of Europe, with the numeral “2” located in an open field representing the eastern Atlantic Ocean.

12 stars are located on the right side of the outer ring, with six stars atop the map of Europe and six stars below it; six vertical stripes cut across the inner core of the coin, visually connecting the upper and lower star segments.

Luc Luycx, a designer at the Royal Belgian Mint, designed the Euro’s common reverse; his initials, LL, are seen on the right side of the design, just under the “O” in “EURO.”

HELLENIC REPUBLIC in Greek