Reproduction of a detail of Sandro Botticelli's 'Birth of Venus' ('Nascita di Venere'), surrounded by the 12 stars of the European Union; on the left the overlapping letters 'R' and 'I' and 2002; on the right the letter 'R'; on the bottom left the author's initials 'CM'.

The 'Birth of Venus' is a painting by Sandro Botticelli generally thought to have been made in the mid 1480s. It depicts the goddess Venus, having emerged from the sea as an adult woman, arriving at the shore (which is related to the Venus Anadyomene motif). The painting is in the collection of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.

Engraver: Claudia Momoni

A geographical map of Western Europe spans the outer ring and inner core on the left side of the coin.

12 stars are located on the left 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 “0” in “10.”