A journey into Monaco’s distant past was stamped into the present on Friday, May 9, as the Principality officially unveiled its EUROPA 2025 postage stamp at the Museum of Prehistoric Anthropology. The launch, attended by Lara Terlizzi-Enza, Director of Monaco’s Office of Stamp Issues (OETP), and Museum Director Elena Rossoni-Notter, marks Monaco’s contribution to the annual Europe-wide series that celebrates shared heritage through philately.
This year’s theme, selected by PostEurop, shines a spotlight on national archaeological discoveries. Monaco’s stamp pays tribute to the Grotte de l’Observatoire — a prehistoric cave that offers evidence of human occupation dating from 250,000 to 20,000 years ago. The design, created in close collaboration with the museum, highlights this remarkable site and the archaeological wealth unearthed on Monegasque soil.
Crafted by renowned artist André Lavergne, the stamp has been engraved and printed in six-colour intaglio. With a face value of 2.10 euros — suitable for international letters weighing up to 20g — the issue is limited to 40,000 copies, making it a sought-after item for philatelists worldwide.
The stamp is now available at Monaco’s Stamp Office, the Stamp and Coin Museum, and local post offices. As part of the prestigious EUROPA series, which has united around 60 countries annually since its inception in 1956, Monaco’s latest offering underscores how even the smallest of nations can have stories carved deep into the bedrock of time — and now, immortalised in miniature.
