10 Diners - Joan Martí i Alanis Customs Union

Andorra issued no domestic coinage of its own for most of the twentieth century, relying entirely on French and Spanish currency in circulation. The commemorative silver program launched in the 1980s and 1990s — of which this piece is part — was the first sustained effort to produce distinctly Andorran numismatic material, authorized under the co-princeship of Joan Martí i Alanis, the Bishop of Urgell. The Customs Union referenced here reflects Andorra's 1990 agreement with the European Community, which formalized its unusual status as a non-member state permitted to trade in EC goods under specific tariff arrangements.