Depicts a vessel sailing floating under the twelve stars of the European Union, representing Europe. The issue year on the left, the monogram of the Italian Republic (RI) on the right, and the engraver's name below.

Depicts the Tara Brooch; below, the value, the inscription "Celtic Arts" and mint mark (R) below, the arch-shaped inscription “Europe of Arts” above.

The Tara Brooch is an Irish Celtic brooch, dated to the late-7th or early-8th century, of the pseudo-penannular type (i.e., with a fully closed head or hoop). It is made from bronze, silver and gold, with a head formed from a circular ornate ring that is intricately decorated on both sides. The brooch is widely considered the most complex and ornate of its kind, and would have been commissioned to be worn as a fastener for the cloak of a high ranking cleric or as ceremonial insignia of high office for a High King of Ireland in Irish Early Medieval society.

The brooch was buried on the east coast of Ireland sometime during the 11th or 12th century, most likely to protect it from Viking or Norman invaders. It lay undiscovered until around 1850. Despite its title, it was found not at the Hill of Tara, but on or near the beach around Bettystown on the coast of County Meath. It was acquired by the Royal Irish Academy in 1868, and transferred to the National Museum of Ireland in 1890 where it remains on permeant display.