Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536) was born in Rotterdam and became an influential theologian, scholar, and philosopher. He entered monastic life early and was ordained a priest in 1492, though he later gained a dispensation from his religious vows. His most famous work, In Praise of Folly, was written while he was staying with Sir Thomas More in England. Published in 1511, the satire condemns the superstitions and corrupt practices in the Roman Catholic Church. While this work had a role in the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, Erasmus remained a Catholic and sought to reform the Church from the inside.

Erasmus commissioned portraits from several noted artists including Albrecht Dürer, Hans Holbein the Younger, and Quentin Metsys. This medal was also commissioned from Metsys, and several letters from Erasmus regarding this medal still exist. The obverse inscription indicates that Erasmus considered that the truest likeness of him was found not in a portrait, but in the content of his writings.

Erasmus used the ancient Roman deity of Terminus, god of boundaries, as a personal emblem, along with the motto Concedo Nulli ("I yield to no one"). While some saw this as a sign of Erasmus's arrogance, the motto is tied directly to the emblem of Terminus. In Christian thought, Terminus represented the boundary between life and death, and thus the motto means that death yields to no one. This is further reinforced on the medal by the reverse inscription indicating that death is the final boundary.