Michael Richard Sefi, a strong supporter of Canadian philately and former keeper of the Royal Philatelic Collection, died on May 9 in the United Kingdom.
Internationally respected within philately, Sefi served as keeper of the Royal Philatelic Collection from 2003 until his retirement in 2018. In that role, he was responsible for overseeing the stamp collection of Queen Elizabeth II, widely regarded as one of the world’s finest philatelic collections.
Sefi maintained close ties with Canadian philately throughout his career. He helped arrange loans from the Royal Philatelic Collection for major Canadian exhibitions and facilitated research access to its material for Canadian philatelists and exhibitors. In recognition of his contributions to the hobby in Canada, he was appointed a fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society of Canada in 2012.
Born in London on Dec. 11, 1943, Sefi worked as a chartered accountant before returning seriously to philately in adulthood. A 2003 profile published in the British Philatelic Bulletin noted he qualified as an accountant with Main Judd before later working in publishing and actuarial fields.
He joined the Royal Philatelic Collection in 1996 as deputy to then-keeper Charles Goodwyn and succeeded him in 2003. According to the British Philatelic Bulletin profile, Sefi had long specialized in the stamps of King George V and exhibited award-winning collections of Downey Head issues, Commonwealth material and Tanganyika.
Over the years, Sefi became deeply involved with several leading philatelic organizations. He served as president of the Great Britain Philatelic Society and held numerous leadership roles with the Royal Philatelic Society London (RPSL). For many years, he also served as chairman and trustee of the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists Trust, the body responsible for one of philately’s highest honours.
In 2012, Sefi signed the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists, widely regarded as one of organized philately’s greatest distinctions.
During his tenure as keeper, Sefi helped modernize and expand access to the Royal Philatelic Collection. He oversaw the collection’s transfer from Buckingham Palace to St. James’s Palace in 1999 and supported major international exhibitions of its material.
Among his most notable projects was The Queen’s Own, a major exhibition of treasures from the Royal Philatelic Collection shown at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C., in 2004. In a contemporary interview published in Linn’s Stamp News, Sefi remarked that Elizabeth II personally approved display selections from the collection, although he noted she “rarely” visited her stamps.
The same article described Sefi as a widely respected British collector who worked to increase scholarly and public access to the Royal Philatelic Collection.
In 2013, Sefi was appointed lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order in Queen Elizabeth II’s Birthday Honours for his service to the royal household and the Royal Philatelic Collection.
At press time, no formal obituary notice had yet been published by the RPSL, although news of his death had begun circulating within the international philatelic community.
Some biographical details in this article were sourced from the British Philatelic Bulletin, Linn’s Stamp News, Wikipedia and other publicly available philatelic references.