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Andorra – Saint Margaret and Dragon
2011 Proof Silver 10 Diners 38.6mm (31.47 grams) 0.925 Silver
Certification: NGC PF 69 ULTRA CAMEO 2854680-006
SANTA MARGARIDA, Saint Margaret slaying Dragon in chapel.
PRINCIPAT D’ANDORRA 10 D 2011, Seal of Andorra.
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 Saint Margaret and the Dragon is a circa 1518 painting of Saint Margaret by the Renaissance painter Raphael, now held in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.
The painting shows the saint at the moment before she is swallowed alive by the dragon. She is shown unafraid, holding the crucifix that will save her once she is swallowed. Another version showing her holding a palm branch is in the collection of the Louvre.
This painting was documented in David Teniers the Younger’s catalog Theatrum Pictorium of the art collection of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in 1659 and again in 1673,
  Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra (Catalan: Principat d’Andorra), also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra (Catalan: Principat de les Valls d’Andorra), is a sovereign landlocked microstate on the Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern Pyrenees, bordered by France to the north and Spain to the south. Believed to have been created by Charlemagne, Andorra was ruled by the count of Urgell until 988, when it was transferred to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Urgell. The present principality was formed by a charter in 1278. It is known as a principality as it is a diarchy headed by two princes: the Catholic bishop of Urgell in Catalonia, Spain, and the president of the French Republic.
Andorra is the sixth-smallest nation in Europe, having an area of 468 square kilometres (181 sq mi) and a population of approximately 77,006. The Andorran people are a Romance ethnic group of originally Catalan descent. Andorra is the 16th-smallest country in the world by land and the 11th-smallest by population. Its capital, Andorra la Vella, is the highest capital city in Europe, at an elevation of 1,023 metres (3,356 feet) above sea level. The official language is Catalan, but Spanish, Portuguese, and French are also commonly spoken.
Tourism in Andorra sees an estimated 10.2 million visitors annually. Andorra is not a member of the European Union, but the euro is its official currency. It has been a member of the United Nations since 1993. In 2013, Andorra had the highest life expectancy in the world at 81 years, according to the Global Burden of Disease Study.
 Andorra declared war on Imperial Germany during World War I, but did not take part directly in the fighting. Some Andorrans volunteered to take part in the conflict as part of the French Legions. It remained in an official state of belligerency until 1958 as it was not included in the Treaty of Versailles.
In 1933, France occupied Andorra following social unrest which occurred before elections due to the Revolution of 1933 and the FHASA strikes (Vagues de FHASA); the revolt led by Joves Andorrans (a labour union group related to the Spanish CNT and FAI) called for political reforms, the universal suffrage vote of all Andorrans and acted in defense of the rights of local and foreign workers during the construction of FHASA’s hydroelectric power station in Encamp. The 5 April 1933 Joves Andorrans seized the Andorran Parliament. These actions were preceded by the arrival of Colonel René-Jules Baulard with 50 gendarmes and the mobilization of 200 local militias or sometent led by the Síndic Francesc Cairat.
On 6 July 1934, adventurer and nobleman Boris Skossyreff, with his promise of freedoms and modernization of the country and wealth through the establishment of a tax haven and foreign investments, received the support of the members of the General Council to proclaim himself the sovereign of Andorra. On 8 July 1934 Boris issued a proclamation in Urgell, declaring himself Boris I, King of Andorra, simultaneously declaring war on the Bishop of Urgell and approving the King’s constitution on 10 July. He was arrested by the Co-Prince and Bishop Justí Guitart i Vilardebó and their authorities on 20 July and ultimately expelled from Spain. From 1936 until 1940, a French military detachment of Garde Mobile led by well-known Colonel René-Jules Baulard was garrisoned in Andorra to secure the principality against disruption from the Spanish Civil War sup> and Francoist Spain and also face the rise of Republicanism in the aftermath of the 1933 Revolution. During the Spanish Civil War, the inhabitants of Andorra welcomed refugees from both sides, and many of them settled permanently in the country thus contributing to the subsequent economic boom and the entry into the capitalist era of Andorra. Francoist troops reached the Andorran border in the later stages of the war.
During World War II, Andorra remained neutral and was an important smuggling route between Vichy France and Francoist Spain. At the course of the war, the population, which lived between two states that had declared to be openly fascist, criticized the passivity of the General Council to the impediment of entry and expulsion of foreigners or refugees, the crimes for economic interests, the reduction of rights of citizens and be too close or sympathetic to Francoism. The General Council itself justified its political and diplomatic actions under the survival and protection of Andorra’s sovereignty, which finally emerged from the two conflicts unscathed. Thus, certain groups organized themselves to help the victims of Nazi oppression coming from Europe, while participating in smuggling to help the country survive. Among the groups that were most prominent there was the Hostal Palanques Evasion Network Command, in contact with the British Mi6, which helped almost 400 fugitives, among whom were also Allied military personnel. They remained active between 1941 and 1944, with certain struggles with pro-Axis informers and Gestapo agents within the country.
In the capital city there was a smuggling black market network of propaganda, culture and cinematic art not prone to totalitarian regimes, promulgated in some places as the Hotel Mirador or the Casino Hotel, as a meeting place for people of ideologies close to Andorran and Spanish Republicanism, and Free France. The network was maintained after the war, when film societies were formed, where movies, music and books censored in Franco’s Spain were imported, thus becoming an anti-censorship attraction for the Catalan or foreign public even within Andorra. Andorran Group (Agrupament Andorrà), an anti-fascist organization linked to the Occitanie’s French Resistance, accused the French representative (veguer) of collaboration with Nazism.
The Andorran opening to the capitalist economy resulted in two axes: mass tourism and the country’s tax exemption. The first steps toward the capitalist boom date from the 1930s, with the construction of FHASA and the creation of professional banking with Banc Agrícol (1930) and Crèdit Andorrà (1949), later with Banca Mora (1952), Banca Cassany (1958) and SOBANCA (1960). Shortly after activities such as skiing and shopping become a tourist attraction, with the inauguration of ski resorts and cultural entities in the late 1930s. All in all, a renovated hotel industry has developed. On April 1968 a social health insurance system was created (CASS).
The Andorran Government necessarily involved planning, projection and forecasts for the future: with the official visit of the French co-prince Charles de Gaulle in 1967 and 1969, it was given approval for the economic boom and national demands within the framework of human rights and international openness.
Andorra lived an era commonly known as “Andorran dream” (in relation to the American dream) alongside with the Trente Glorieuses: the mass culture rooted the country experiencing radical changes in the economy and culture. Proof of this event was Ràdio Andorra, number one transmitter musical radio station in Europe on this period, with guests and speakers of great importance promoting musical hits of Chanson française, Swing, Rhythm & blues, Jazz, Rock & roll or American Country music. So much so that Andorra achieved a GDP per capita and a life expectancy higher than the most standard countries of the current economy.
Given its relative isolation, Andorra has existed outside the mainstream of European history, with few ties to countries other than France, Spain and Portugal. In recent times, however, its thriving tourist industry along with developments in transport and communications have removed the country from its isolation. Since 1976 the country sees the need to reform Andorran institutions due to the anachronisms in the field of sovereignty, human rights and the balance of powers as well as the need to adapt legislation to modern demands. In 1982 a first separation of powers took place when instituting the Govern d’Andorra, under the name of Executive Board (Consell Executiu), chaired by the first prime minister Òscar Ribas Reig with the approval of the Co-Princes. In 1989 the Principality signed an agreement with the European Economic Community to regularize trade relations.
Its political system was modernized in 1993 after the Andorran constitutional referendum, when the constitution was drafted by the Co-Princes and the General Council and approved on 14 March sup> by 74.2% of voters, with a 76% turnout. The first elections under the new constitution were held later in the year. The same year Andorra became a member of the United Nations and the Council of Europe.
Andorra formalized diplomatic relations with the United States in 1996 participating in the 51st UN General Assembly, a very important fact in view of the normalization that the country aspired to. First General Syndic Marc Forné took part on a speech in Catalan in the General Assembly to defend the reform of the organization, and after three days Forné took part in the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe to defend the linguistic rights and the economy of Andorra. In mid-2006 the monetary agreement with the European Union is formalized, which allows Andorra to use the euro in an official way, as well as coin its own Euro currency.
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