Principat D'andorra - Bandera D'andorra (Andorra - Flag Of Andorra Definitives)

Introduction

As aftermath of the crusades against the Cathars, a dispute over the territory of Andorra arose between the Bishop of Urgell in Catalonia and the Count of Foix. King Pedro III of Aragón mediated between both parties. This led to the signing of the Paréage of Andorra in Lleida, on 6 September 1278. The Paréage established joined sovereignty of Roger Bernard III, Count of Foix, and Pere d'Urtx, Bishop of Urgell, over the territory of Andorra.

Until 1866, Andorra used a flag with the yellow (or) and red (gules) bands of the mediaeval arms of Catalonia and the House of Foix. In 1866, Emperor Napoleon III of France added the blue band of the French flag. The three colours replicate the colours of the principality's arms. The current flag was adopted in 1971. On 5 May 1999, the General Assembly of Andorra approved the design of the official flag and arms of the principality.



The proportions of the flag are 10:7 (width x height). It has three vertical bands in the proportion 8:9:8. The colours of the bands are blue, yellow, and red, respectively. There are two versions of the flag: a state version and a civilian version. The state flag used on official occasions includes the principality's coat-of-arms. The civilian flag does not. The coat-of-arms is placed centrally in the yellow band.

2019 Correus Espanyols, Tarifa A (Spanish posts)

Post in the principality is handled by La Poste of France and Correos of Spain. Letters sent within Andorra are free of postage. Both post offices treat items sent to addresses outside the principality but within their home countries as inland mail. To be treated as inland mail, the items must be deposited in a mailbox of the relevant postal administration or handed it at one of its offices: La Poste for France and Correos for Spain. Letters sent to any other country is treated as international mail. Mail must be franked with stamps of the relevant postal administration.

On 4 January 2019, Spain's Correos issued a stamp depicting the official flag of Andorra flying for use in the principality. The stamp covered the Spanish inland basic letter rate. This rate is indicated by the inscription 'A' over 'TARIFA.' It prepays carriage of a letter in the first weight step from Andorra to any address in Spain.


2019, Principat d'Andorra, Correus Espanyols, Bandera, Edifil nr. 478

Correos classified the stamp as a permanent stamp (serie básica). Since 2017, it has issued a single permanent stamp covering the Spanish inland basic letter rate. From 1982 until 2018, the designs of permanent stamps showed the coat-of-arms of Andorra. The present stamp continues this tradition with the official flag that includes the coat-of-arms of the principality.

The flag is set flying against a light blue background. The names of the territory and issuing entity, the tariff, and the logo of the printer are reversed out of the background. The printer's logo, a crowned capital 'M' followed by the letters RCM-FNMT, appears on the lower right edge of the stamp reading from bottom to top. The letters stand for 'Real Casa de la Moneda – Fábrica Nacional de Timbre y Moneda.'

2020 Correus Espanyols, Tarifa A (Spanish posts)

On 3 January 2020, Spain's Correos issued another stamp depicting the official flag of Andorra flying. Like the stamp issued a year earlier, it covered the Spanish inland basic letter rate, being inscribed 'A' over 'TARIFA.' Correos classifies it as 'serie básica,' i.e., a permanent stamp. The stamp is very similar to that issued a year earlier.


2020, Principat d'Andorra, Correus Espanyols, Bandera, Edifil nr. 492

The most obvious change to the design is the background. This changed to pink with the arms of the principality reversed out of the background. These arms appear in suggested alternating, mutually offset lines. The typographic elements are printed in black. They were reversed out of the background on the 2019 issue. The printer's logo and name have been set lower than on the preceding year's issue.

2020 Correus Espanyols, Tarifa A (Spanish posts)

Continuing its policy to issue a single stamp under the flag of the 'serie básica' for Andorra, Correos issued its next stamp on 18 January 2021. The stamp, again, covered the Spanish inland basic letter rate, being inscribed 'A' over 'TARIFA.' The design by Daniel Angula of the philatelic department of Correos (Filatelia) is different to that for the two previous years. The flag takes up the whole surface of the stamp. It still gives the impression of a flying flag.

The typographic elements of the design have also changed. The year of issue has been added to the printer's logo. This has now moved to the bottom of the stamp, reading from left to right. Much of the flag and the arms of the principality are obscured by the name of the issuing territory.


2021, Principat d'Andorra, Correus Espanyols, Bandera, Edifil nr. 507

Erratum: the previous post should have been titled "2021 Correus Espanyols, Tarifa A (Spanish posts)."

2022 Correus Espanyols, Tarifa A (Spanish posts)

Correos issued the 2022 issue of the 'serie básica' for Andorra depicting the principality's flag on 3 January 2022. As for the previous three years, the stamp prepaid the Spanish inland basic letter rate. It is inscribed 'A' over 'TARIFA.' The flag again takes up the whole surface of the stamp. It, however, is very two-dimensional, except for the state arms at the centre of the flag.

The printer's logo and name again appear at the bottom right of the stamp, reading from left to right. As was the case with the 2021 issue, this is followed by the year of issue. The name of the principality and the issuing entity, Correus Espanyols, are printed in black. This time they are much less prominent than on the 2021 issue.


2022, Principat d'Andorra, Correus Espanyols, Bandera, Edifil nr. 522 (?)

The coat-of-arms of Andorra is printed in a silver-coloured foil. Held at an angle to the light this gives a three-dimensional impression.


2022, Principat d'Andorra, Correus Espanyols, Bandera, detail

I wonder how this stamp has been received in Andorra. The colours of the blue and red bands are nowhere near the official colours with the former being too 'reddish' and the latter too 'bluish.' Also, the silver coat-of-arms has little to do with the official colour. The arms of Andorra reflect its history as explained in this thread: https://goscf.com/t/78848.

2023 Correus Espanyols, Tarifa A (Spanish posts)

On 16 January 2023, Correos issued another stamp in its 'serie básica' for Andorra depicting the principality's flag. The stamp is inscribed 'A' over 'TARIFA.' The 'A' covers the Spanish inland basic letter rate. At the time of issuance, it was € 0.78. There is no charge for sending a basic letter within the principality. Correos treats a letter to Spain franked by one of its stamps issued for the principality as inland mail.

The stamp shows the map of the principality against a silver background. The map is made up of the principality's flag for official occasions with a thin white outline. As such, it includes the arms of Andorra.

The stamp was printed by the Spanish Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre (F.N.M.T.). The printer's logo and name followed by the year of issue appear at the bottom right of the stamp, reading from left to right. The name of the principality appears at the top of the stamp. That of the issuing entity, Correus Espanyols, appears at the bottom. All were printed in black.


2023, Principat d'Andorra, Correus Espanyols, Bandera, Edifil nr. 539?

My scanner does not like the metallic silver ink.


2023, Principat d'Andorra, Correus Espanyols, Bandera, actual colour

2024 Correus Espanyols, Tarifa A (Spanish posts)

On 5 January 2024, Correos issued another stamp in the serie básica of Andorra. Over time, the series' name "Bandera d'Andorra" has become "Bandera I Escut d'Andorra" as the arms of the principality became a more prominent element of the design. One could be forgiven for thinking this year's stamp reverted to the "Escut d'Andorra" theme used between 1982 and 2018. The colours of the flag, however, still are part of the design.

The stamp is inscribed 'A' over 'TARIFA' in black, in the upper right corner. The name of the principality appears at top right. The inscription "CORREUS ESPANYOLS" at the lower right identify the stamp as an issue by the Spanish post in Andorra. There is no charge for sending a basic letter within the principality. Correos treats a letter to Spain franked by one of its stamps issued for the principality as inland mail. The 'A' covers the Spanish inland basic letter rate. At the time of issuance, it was € 0.82.

The stamp was printed in offset and the arms of the principality in silver-coloured foil by the Spanish Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre (F.N.M.T.). The printer's logo and name followed by the year of issue appear at the bottom left of the stamp, reading from left to right. All inscriptions are printed in black.

The stamp is framed by, from the outside inwards, three lines in the blue, yellow, and red colours that represent the principality's flag.



The silver foil does not lend itself well to scanning, especially since the details of the arms, already, are difficult to see by the naked eye.

2025 Correus Espanyols, Tarifa A (Spanish posts)

Resolution 27609 of the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility and the Treasury Department dated 17 December 2024 and published in the "Boletín Oficial del Estado" 315 of 31 December 2024, provides for the issue of another stamp in the «Serie Bàsica.–2025. Bandera y escudo. Principat d'Andorra». The stamp was issued on 7 January 2025. Sale of the stamp will cease on 31 December 2030, but the stamps will remain valid for franking until an order to the contrary is issued.

https://www.boe.es/diario_boe/txt.p...A-2024-27609

The stamp was printed in offset on chalk-surfaced, gummed, phosphorescent paper by the Fábrica Nacional de Timbre y Moneda – Real Casa de la Moneda (F.N.M.T.-R.C.M.). The size is 40.9 x 28.8 mm (horizontally), which is the printed area. The perforation gauge is 13¾ (horizontally) x 13¼ (vertically). The stamps were printed in sheets of 25 stamps. No limit has been set to the number of stamps that may be printed. The website of Correos gives the number printed as 70,000. A minimum of 2,500 stamps were to be reserved by FNMT-RCM for the State Posts and Telegraphs Company to meet requirements by the UPU and other international organisations, as well as for the benefit of the printer's museum with respect to the national and international promotion of philately. A further 500 were to be reserved for FNMT-RCM itself to be exchanged with other issuing organisations and for the national and international promotion of philately.

As before, the stamp covers 'Tariff A,' being the basic (Spanish) inland tariff. Post within the principality is free from postage. At the time of issue, the price of a stamp was € 0,89.



The 2025 instalment combines the elements of previous issues. The background shows the blue, yellow, and red of the Andorran flag. A white area in the shape of map of the principality appears at the centre of the stamp. In the centre of the white area appears the coat-of-arms as it would in the yellow band of the state's flag. At top right appears the inscription 'A' over 'TARIFA' reversed out of the red background. The issuing territory 'Principat d'Andorra' and entity 'CORREUS ESPANYOLS' appear at bottom right. At bottom left appears the "Crowned M" followed by 'RCM FNMT' logo of the printer, followed by the year of issue.