The design is a mix of two major elements of the Erasmus programme: the original intellectual inspiration, Erasmus himself, and the allegory of its influence over Europe. The first one is symbolised by one of the most known depictions of Erasmus. The second one is symbolised by a beam of links going across the coin from a beacon to another, representing the numerous intellectual and human exchanges between the European students. As a reference to Europe, some of these links form other stars, born from the synergy between the countries. Figure 35, for the 35th anniversary, comes out from the stars in a contemporary graphical style.

Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (1466–1536) was a Dutch philosopher and Christian scholar who is considered to have been one of the greatest scholars of the northern Renaissance. As a Catholic priest, he was an important figure in classical scholarship who wrote in a pure Latin style. Among humanists he enjoyed the sobriquet "Prince of the Humanists", and has been called "the crowning glory of the Christian humanists". Using humanist techniques for working on texts, he prepared important new Latin and Greek editions of the New Testament, which raised questions that would be influential in the Protestant Reformation and Catholic Counter-Reformation. He also wrote On Free Will, In Praise of Folly, Handbook of a Christian Knight, On Civility in Children, Copia: Foundations of the Abundant Style, Julius Exclusions, and many other works.

• Abbreviation for country of issue: RF
• Mintmark of the Paris Mint: cornucopia
• Mark of the General Engraver Joaquin Jimenez (J.J.): two nested squares superimposed on a rhinoceros head

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.”

The sequence "2 ★ ★" repeated six times alternately upright and inverted