250 Years of the Financial Police Guardia di Finanza

A stylised version of the Guardia di Finanza's heraldic emblem, incorporating several elements: the mountain, sea and sky; the gryphon — a mythological creature said to guard the treasury — symbolised by the state strongbox and a turreted crown. At the bottom, the country abbreviation "RI" and the dates "1774–2024"; to the right, the Rome Mint mark "R" and the initials "MB" of coin designer Marta Bonifacio. The commemorative inscription "GUARDIA DI FINANZA" runs along the upper edge.

The Guardia di Finanza is one of Italy's oldest and most distinctive security agencies. Founded in 1774 under the Kingdom of Sardinia as the Corpo dei Cannonieri delle Coste, it developed over two centuries into today's financial police force with military status. Its duties include combating tax evasion, money laundering, smuggling, and organized economic crime, as well as protecting Italy's maritime borders. As the Corpo della Guardia di Finanza, it reports to the Ministry of Economy and Finance and today numbers around 65,000 members, active both domestically and in international deployments.

The heraldic emblem of the Guardia di Finanza combines a griffin, a crown, the sea, and mountains into a single symbol representing vigilance and the state's protective mandate at once. The griffin is traditionally seen in iconography as guardian of treasures — a tradition dating back to antiquity that underscores the agency's particular responsibility for state assets. With the 2024 2-euro commemorative coin, Italy honors the 250th anniversary of this institution, which has been a fixture of the Italian state apparatus since its founding in 18th-century Piedmont.