2nd portrait of Queen Elizabeth II facing right. Lettering around outside, date below.

Mint mark: PM (Pobjoy Mint).

Engraver: Arnold Machin.

Bust of Ludwig van Beethoven, a violin and a quill pen, notes.

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) was a German composer. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential of all composers. His best-known compositions include 9 symphonies, 5 piano concertos, 1 violin concerto, 32 piano sonatas, 16 string quartets, his great Mass the Missa solemnis and an opera, Fidelio. By his late 20s his hearing began to deteriorate, and by the last decade of his life he was almost totally deaf.