The reverse of the coin copy shows Venus in form-fitting clothes, arranging her mantle with her left hand and holding a golden apple in her right: the prize for the most beautiful goddess of all. Her pose is the mirror image of a Roman marble sculpture in the Louvre, the plaster cast of which is on display at the permanent exhibition. The apple in the left hand of the Louvre piece is a modern addition, it is unknown what the goddess originally held in her hand. This representational type of Venus (the so-called Fréjus or Louvre—Naples type) can be traced back to a famous Greek bronze statue of Aphrodite from the end of the fifth century BC that had a great impact on the goddess’ later depictions. Numerous variants are known from the republican and imperial age in various genres of art (marble sculptures, statuettes, engraved gems, coins).
