The common side was designed by Luc Luycx, a Belgian artist who won a Europe-wide competition to design the new coins.
The coin dates from 2001, when euro coins and banknotes were introduced in the 12-member eurozone and its related territories. The coin has been used since 2002 and was not redesigned in 2007 as was the case with the higher-value coins. All euro coins have a common reverse and a country-specific (national) obverse. It is the lowest-value coin in the Eurozone the next highest are the 2 and 5 euro cent coins. The 1 euro cent coin (€0.01) has a value of one hundredth of a euro and is composed of copper-covered steel. Globe with the EU-15 highlighted next to the denomination shown in Latin characters
