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 a detail of the oil on canvas "Laus Veneris" (In Praise of Venus, 1868) by Edward Burne-Jones; below, the name of the artist; left, the mintmark “R” and the coin's value; arch-shaped above “Europe of Arts”.

Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones (1833–1898) was a British painter and designer associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood which included Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Millais, Ford Madox Brown and Holman Hunt. Burne-Jones worked with William Morris as a founding partner in Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co in the design of decorative arts.

Burne-Jones's early paintings show the influence of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, but by 1870 he had developed his own style. In 1877, he exhibited eight oil paintings at the Grosvenor Gallery (a new rival to the Royal Academy). These included The Beguiling of Merlin. The timing was right and Burne-Jones was taken up as a herald and star of the new Aesthetic Movement.

In the studio of Morris and Co. Burne-Jones worked as a designer of a wide range of crafts including ceramic tiles, jewellery, tapestries, and mosaics. Among his most significant and lasting designs are those for stained glass windows the production of which was a revived craft during the 19th century. His designs are still to be found in churches across the UK, with examples in the US and Australia.