Andorra only gained the formal right to issue euro-series coinage through a Monetary Agreement with the European Union signed in June 2011, with circulation pieces not reaching the public until 2014. Prior to this, the principality had no official currency of its own — Spanish pesetas and French francs had circulated by convention for decades, and later euros by default, without Andorra striking a single denominated coin for general use.
The agreement capped Andorra's annual mintage volumes, a clause negotiated specifically to prevent the micro-state from flooding collector markets the way San Marino and Vatican City issues occasionally have.
Andorra only gained the formal right to issue euro-series coinage through a Monetary Agreement with the European Union signed in June 2011, with circulation pieces not reaching the public until 2014. Prior to this, the principality had no official currency of its own — Spanish pesetas and French francs had circulated by convention for decades, and later euros by default, without Andorra striking a single denominated coin for general use.
The agreement capped Andorra's annual mintage volumes, a clause negotiated specifically to prevent the micro-state from flooding collector markets the way San Marino and Vatican City issues occasionally have.