Monaco is a tiny scrap of mountainous coast that has managed to retain its sovereign status over the last few centuries by offering itself as a tax and vacation haven for the world’s most wealthy people. On a per capita basis, Monaco is one of the world’s wealthiest nations, and it has on a population and land area basis one of the world’s most profligate stamp issuing policies (Monaco has issued over 3,000 postage stamps giving it a ratio of 1,500 stamps per square kilometer but only 1/10th of a stamp per resident. Vatican City is the worldwide philatelic profligacy winner with over 3,000 stamps per square kilometer and nearly four stamps issues per resident—forty times more stamps per resident issued than Monaco).
Still, Monaco has more than enough stamps for most philatelists and has long been a stamp collection favorite. It has a lot going for it as a country to specialize in. The stamps are well designed and carefully and beautifully engraved; they are colorful; and Monaco has been a collecting favorite worldwide so that the prices of its stamps are relatively immune from currency swings (The overwhelming majority of collectors of German stamps reside in Germany. What this means is that when the Euro moves against the dollar, the price of German stamps fluctuate too, having nothing to do with popularity. Monacan stamps are collected as a part of French area, so they have a popular worldwide basis and are very popular with wealthy Russians and Asians who visit and bank there). As a philatelic entity, the stamps of Monaco have remained popular for over a century.
The country is easy to collect. Most of the stamps are readily available. There are only two rarities: the five franc of the first issue and the rare five franc Semi-postal. Except for these two stamps, the entire country can be had for a few thousand dollars (or a $10 per week collecting budget over five years). Add in the two rarities and some nice specialty albums to house the collection in and you’re talking maybe $5,000. Not bad for thousand of different well engraved mint postage stamps.