Monaco 2054

     Monaco is located on the Mediterranean Sea about 3 miles from the French-Italian border. In honor of the 700th anniversary of the Grimaldi dynasty in 1997 Monaco issued this set of stamps showing the evolution of the geographic territory of Monaco. Clockwise from the upper left the stamps show the territory as it was in the 13th century, as it was in the 15th to 19th centuries, a panoramic view of the western half of Monaco at the present, with dates showing the addition of specific areas, and a panoramic view of the eastern half of Monaco.
     At the bottom of the upper stamps there is a coastal outline showing Monaco in 1861.
     On the stamp in the lower right there is a perspective view of Monaco and an outline map with two arrows indicating the extent of "Eaux territoriales," territorial waters in 1984. This was determined by a Convention between Monaco and France occasioned by "the extension of the breadth of territorial waters to twelve nautical miles." (http://www.un.org/Depts/los/LEGISLATIONANDTREATIES/PDFFILES/TREATIES/MCO-FRA1984MD.PDF)