2020-09-08 Tue

The people of Andorra annually celebrate National Day on September 8. This holiday is established to honor Our Lady of Meritxell, the patron saint of Andorra. The day of September the 8th is also the Feast of Our Lady of Meritxell. Our Lady of Meritxell is a statue depicting an apparition of the Virgin Mary.

According to the legend, the statue was found by villagers from Meritxell under the blooming bush of a wild rose on January 6. The villagers took the statue to the church, but the next day it appeared again under the bush of rose. The villagers decided to build a new chapel on the place, where the statue was found. When the chapel was completed, they found out, that its open space was miraculously untouched by the winter snows.

In 1996, Andorra issued a commemorative coin worth 50 Dinars. The obverse of the coin depicts a crowned Coat of Arms of the country inside a design border. The legend outside reads: JOAN D.M. BISBE D'URGELL I PRINCEPS D'ANDORRA and the year of issue.

The reverse of the coin is the superb design of the silver and gold inlay. The reverse portrays a statue depicting Our Lady of Meritxell. The legend reads MARE DE DEU DE MERITXELL PATRONA D'ANDORRA and 75TH ANIVERSARI DELA CORONACIO.

Image Courtesy: coinsbook.net