The coin shows a stylised bell with keys serving as clappers. It recalls the demonstration on 17 November 1989 when protesters jangled their keys to symbolise the unlocking of doors, an event which marked the beginning of the ‘Velvet Revolution’ in Czechoslovakia, as it then was. Under the bell are the artist’s mark and the mint mark of Mincovňa Kremnica (the Slovak mint). Encircling the bell are the legend ‘17. NOVEMBER SLOBODA DEMOKRACIA’, the dates ‘1989-2009’ and the name of the issuing country, ‘SLOVENSKO’.
The coin’s outer ring depicts the 12 stars of the European Union.