The Wadden Sea is an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coast of northwestern continental Europe and the range of Frisian Islands, forming a shallow body of water with tidal flats and wetlands. It is rich in biological diversity. In 2009, the Dutch and German parts of the Wadden Sea were inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List and the Danish part was added in June 2014. The German part was the setting for the 1903 Erskine Childers novel The Riddle of the Sands.

The first Dutch commemorative coins of 2016 are designed with a special Line Phase Modulation technique that can be seen in the seagulls flying over a map of the sea.