Four modern Monaco commemoratives, all from 2009, all mint. Left to right:

1. 0,73€ — Monte Carlo Magic Stars 2009. A whimsical piece: a pig in a magician's act, producing doves and playing cards from a top hat, with a winged creature swooping above. It marked the Magic Stars festival held October 7–11, 2009. Artwork by Hodge, and it still has its sheet-margin tab attached (the "2009" at top).

2. 0,85€ — SEPAC issue. A soft watercolor of a square in the old town of Monaco, with the post office ("Postes") on the corner. Monaco's contribution to the SEPAC joint issue — the small European postal administrations' shared-theme series. Artwork by Golinelli.

3. 1,00€ — Big Ben, 150th anniversary. A tall, engraving-style portrait of London's clock tower, inscribed "1859–2009, 150 ans de..." down the right side — Monaco honoring the sesquicentennial of a very un-Monegasque landmark.

4. 0,56€ — Christmas and New Year. A wide-format holiday issue: "Joyeux Noël, Bonne Année" scripted across a Christmas tree, with a blue night scene of the stable and star at left and bauble designs in red and green. Design by Mordant, engraved by Catelin.

A pretty cross-section of Monaco's modern output — festival, joint European issue, a borrowed British anniversary, and the annual Christmas stamp, all in one mount.