2 €, Colored, 150th Anniversary of the Unification of Italy, 2011

At the center of the coin, three waving Italian flags are depicted, representing the last three 50-year periods—ending in 1911, 1961, and 2011 respectively—and indicating a perfect relationship between generations: this is the emblem of the 150th anniversary of the Italian unification. The flags are semi-circled by the inscription ‘150° DELL’UNITÀ D’ITALIA’ (150th anniversary of the Italian unification), and to their right, the characters ‘RI’ are stacked, signifying the issuing country (Republic of Italy). Below the flags, the years ‘1861 › 2011 › ›’ are inscribed. Underneath the years, in the center, the mint mark ‘R’ is displayed, and to the right, the characters ‘ELF INC’ stand for the initials of the artist Ettore Lorenzo Frapiccini and the first three letters of his Italian professional title (engraver). The coin’s edge features the twelve stars of the European Union.