Feeling Romantic? A coin for Valentine's

This is a beautiful coin. It is not rare but the designs are exceptional. The obverse was designed by an artist called Pietro Giampaoli and shows a young woman in Renaissance dress, surrounded by 19 shields. From lower left the shields are: Genova, Torino, Aosta, Milano, Trento, Venezia, Trieste, Udine, Bologna, Firenze, Ancona, Perugia, Roma, L'Aquila, Napoli, Bari, Potenza, Catanzaro, Sicilia, Cagliari. The last two are hidden behind the bust. The designers' name is below the portrait.

The coin has raised edge letter within six stars REPVBBLICA ITALIANA ***[date]***The reverse has Christopher Columbus's ships, the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria sailing to right, the denomination L. 500 and letter R for the mintThe designer of the reverse was Guido Veroi. Born in 1926 in Rome ; died January 16, 2013 there ) was an Italian sculptor , medallist. The coins were issued from late 1958 to 1967 and then in specimen sets.

There is a story that the obverse design was not intended to be for a coin but a present for a lady. Another account says it was a wedding anniversary gift and a medallion with the design won first prize at 1951 International Numismatics Exposition in Madrid. Just the thing for a Valentine's Day gift!

Sources:
File:IT-1958-Lire-500.jpg(https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12563589)
Story behind the 500 Lire coin design? (https://www.cointalk.com/threads/story-behind-the-500-lire-coin-design.69049/)
Numista › Coins › Italy › Italy500 Lire(https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces2716.html)