Depicts a view of the Palazzo delle Finanze in Via Cernaia in Rome, headquarters of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, with the flags flying the colours of the Italian Republic and the European Union in the foreground. Above and below, the inscriptions “REPUBBLICA” and “ITALIANA” respectively.

Depicts two geometric figures (rhombicuboctahedron on the left) on the applications of the golden section (drawings attributed to Leonardo da Vinci) from the treatise “De Divina Proportione” by Fra Luca Pacioli (Ambrosian Library in Milan). The inscription “General Accounting Office", the value and the mintmark (R) above, the engraver's name and the dates of the foundation of the Accounting Office and the coin’s issue below.

Divina proportione (15th century Italian for Divine proportion), later also called De divina proportione (converting the Italian title into a Latin one) is a book on mathematics written by Luca Pacioli and illustrated by Leonardo da Vinci, completed by February 9th, 1498 in Milan and first printed in 1509. Its subject was mathematical proportions (the title refers to the golden ratio) and their applications to geometry, to visual art through perspective, and to architecture. The clarity of the written material and Leonardo's excellent diagrams helped the book to achieve an impact beyond mathematical circles, popularizing contemporary geometric concepts and images.