Andorra's coinage authority only began issuing coins for general circulation and collection in 1982, having functioned for centuries under a feudal co-principality arrangement that made a unified monetary identity politically complicated. Joan Martí i Alanis served as Bishop of Urgell — and therefore Episcopal Co-Prince of Andorra — from 1971 until his death in 2009, one of the longest tenures in that office's history.
The 1987 gold issues were part of an early push to establish Andorra's numismatic program on international markets, aimed squarely at collector revenue rather than circulation.
Andorra's coinage authority only began issuing coins for general circulation and collection in 1982, having functioned for centuries under a feudal co-principality arrangement that made a unified monetary identity politically complicated. Joan Martí i Alanis served as Bishop of Urgell — and therefore Episcopal Co-Prince of Andorra — from 1971 until his death in 2009, one of the longest tenures in that office's history.
The 1987 gold issues were part of an early push to establish Andorra's numismatic program on international markets, aimed squarely at collector revenue rather than circulation.