Andorra 2022: Charlemagne, Monetary Agreement

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Andorra issues two commemorative €2 coins this year. One is dedicated to Charlemagne who, according to local legends, founded Andorra in 805 (see here for example). "The Great Charlemagne" are also the first words of the Andorran national anthem. Interestingly the coin design has no explicit reference to Charlemagne, nor to any particular occasion. Oh well.



The other piece commemorates the tenth anniversary of the monetary agreement between Andorra and the European Union. Each coin issue will have a volume of 70,000. Both will be minted by the Spanish Mint (FNMT-RCM) in Madrid. More info is here (PDF, in Catalan).

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Charlemagne's portrait on the coin is apparently taken from a painting that Albrecht Dürer did about 500 years ago (1511–1513). That is of course not what Charlemagne looked like but apparently the Andorran government believed that the effigy will be recognized anyway ...

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Interestingly the coin design has no explicit reference to Charlemagne,

the Andorran government believed that the effigy will be recognized anyway.

If you know your crowns, you will immediately recognise the imperial crown of the Holy Roman Empire, said to be the crown of Charlemagne.

However, if you know your history, you will know that this crown was made when Charlie was already resting in peace for over a century. That doesn't prevent him from wearing it on a statue in front of Notre Dame de Paris.

Peter