COVER N.18 - Monaco

Postmark: OETP (Office Emissions de Timbre-Poste). Pricipauté de Monaco - 1JUL2021
Posted on the  1th july; received on the 5th July.
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Another lovely cover, another country, this time Monaco. Thanks a lot Roland, my growing cover collection owes you a lot.

I first recall having heard of the  small but well to do (second highest GDP per capita in the world) Mediterranean state when I was a little boy and visited in my capital, Lisboa, the Aquário Vasco da Gama, one of the oldest Aquariums in the world.

In its inception the aquarium was the showroom for the then Monarch of Portugal, Rei D. Carlos I, to show his sea species collection, gathered in the several scientific campaigns he led on the Portuguese coast, influenced by his friend and correspondent Price Albert I, of Monaco.

I, the 10 year old coming from the Azores  where I was used to snorkel my way through the summer holidays from dawn to dusk, found the collection fascinating. (I still recall the giant squid hanging on the wall…(or was it the ceiling?)

Later, many a Sunday afternoon was spent with my eyes glued on the TV to watch the Lotus 72 and its nemesis Tyrrel  not to mention  the infamous Ferrari vs. McLaren duels at the  Monaco Grand prix.

3 or 4 years ago I finally got to visit Monaco. At one point I felt like being in some sort of silent movie, because several places looked decidedly familiar, whereas  the sounds I recalled from those long gone afternoons were simply not there… I can’t tell you how much I felt like starting to run along the streets making deep roaring sounds from the depths of my Cosworth heart…. 

The lovely 0,10 € stamps showing  a pair of great tits (I know it sounds strange, but that’s what it is….) – Parus major – are part of a most beautiful definitive set of 10 stamps (10€; 5€; 2€; 1€; 0,50€; 0,20€; 0,10€; 0,05€; 0,02€; 0,01€) issued on 01JAN2002, dedicated to Mediterranean Fauna and Flora. No tits on the other stamps but a plethora of wildlife, ranging from flowers to butterflies, and fishes and sea snails, all drawn with exquisite and delicate craftsmanship.

The 1,10€ stamp at the bottom left corner of the envelope is a single stamp set issued on 10APR2018, on the occasion of the 2018 FIFA World Football Cup, held in Russia. I, being no die-hard soccer fan (and, as such, a member of a really minor minority)  nevertheless am quite pleased to see my little flag, amidst the other little flags that grace the stamp.

Of note is also the very clean and precise way in which the stamps were cancelled, a sign of the attention that the Office Emissions de Timbre-Poste devotes to philatelists.