COVER N. 574 - MONACO

Postmark: Monaco Musée des Timbres et des Monnaies 11.04.2025

Posted on the 11th April; Received on the 21st April 2025

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Two nice stamps and a fine pictorial obliteration, from the tiny Principality overlooking the Mediterranean. What's not to like about it...? Un grand Merci, Roland!

Stamps, left to right:

- 0,20 € stamp illustrated with a Swallowtail sea perch (Anthias anthias) a member of the Anthiadidae family which can be found in the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean sea, and which is also prone to be found in aquariums all over the world.. The stamp is 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. The illustrations include a plethora of wildlife, ranging from flowers to butterflies,  fishes and sea snails, all drawn with exquisite and delicate craftsmanship for in taglio printing.

- Hot Air ballooning is both a sport and a significant  segment of tourism related economy for it is hard to resist the chance to hover over idyllic locations like Cappadocia or Monsaraz propelled by nothing but air, either that maintains you afloat in the air, or that that drives you in the form of wind. 

But in order to rise in the air and keep yourself afloat, air has to be heated up by huge burners that use up quite a bit of gas and honouring Lavoisier produce in turn a fair amount of  greenhouse friendly CO2... 

Technology developed at Monaco and used in the Balloon pictured in the stamp on the cover, impacting both the construction of the balloon itself, with the use of a double envelope system and its gas  burning apparatus, through the use of synthesised carburants have managed to reduce the amount of gas consumed by a factor of 2, thus proportionally reducing the dreaded carbon emissions. 

The balloon, built by ULTRAMAGIC in Catalonia, Spain, for the hot air balloon team  Les Aéronautes de Monaco will be participating in several events to demonstrate its technology through the course of this year.

The Monaco eco-balloon was the subject of a 2 x 1,96 stamp set issued on 02Jan 2024, both illustrated with images of the balloon flying over landmarks of Monaco: the port, on the stamp on the cover, and the Prince's palace, on the companion stamp in the set.

The stamps were obliterated with a nice pictorial postmark at Monaco's Postal Museum, bearing the arms of the Prince.