Renowned Canadian philatelist and author Dr. David Piercey, FRPSC died on Sunday, Oct. 8, surrounded by family and friends at the Grey Nuns Community Hospital in Edmonton, Alta.
A Canadian-level exhibitor and accredited judge, Dr. Piercey was a former chair of the Royal Philatelic Society of Canada (RPSC) Judging and Exhibiting Program. He was elected a Fellow of The RPSC in 2010 and served on its Board of Directors 2008-2016. During this time Dr. Piercey assisted The RPSC in developing guidelines for the accreditation of new National shows. He also developed The RPSC Exhibitor Feeback form for all Canadian National-level shows.
Dr. Piercey is best known to many Canadian philatelists for his column, “Let’s Talk Exhibiting,” for the RPSC’s The Canadian Philatelist (TCP) and the book review column “The Philatelic Bookshelf” for Canadian Stamp News. In 2022, Dr. Piercey partnered with The RPSC to publish the book, “Let’s Talk Exhibiting,” which featured many of the columns he had written for the TCP. The book has served as a fundraiser for The RPSC thanks to sponsorships. Since its initial release in June 2022, the book has also been translated into French.
Dr. Piercey received several accolades for his research articles on Newfoundland postal history in BNA Topics, (the official Journal of the British North America Philatelic Society — BNAPS ), The PHSC Journal (the official publication of the Postal History Society of Canada) , Maple Leaves (the official journal of the Canadian Philatelic Society of Great Britain) , The Canadian Philatelist, and he was a three-time recipient of the Collectors Club of Chicago Pratt Award. In 2015, Dr. Piercey was awarded The RPSC Geldert Medal. He was also an occasional contributor to the American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors (AAPE) The Philatelic Exhibitor, writing on exhibiting matters. He was also the editor of the Philatelic Specialists Society of Canada Anthology books in 2020 and 2021.
A member of primarily British North America (BNA), specialist societies and study groups,Dr. Piercey maintained an active involvement in such groups, with occasional short articles or talks being prepared as a result. Dr. Piercey also had a strong interest in Western Canadian and Northern Canadian postal history and a thematic interest in the North Atlantic fishery.
He judged regularly at national-level shows throughout Canada and the Pacific Northwest and occasionally at the American Philatelic Society’s annual StampShow and the AAPE’s AmericStamp Expo — the one-frame Champion of Champions. Dr. Piercey was also very involved on the organizing committee of CAPEX 22 — the International One Frame Stamp Championship Exhibition, a four-day show, which ran from June 9-12 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in downtown Toronto. It’ was the first international philatelic show hosted by Canada since Capex 1996.
Dr. Piercey was also an active member of the Edmonton Stamp Club.
Dr. Piercey is survived by his wife, Elaine; children Laurel (Chris) and Davin (Chorong); sister Beth; and, brother-in-law Glenn (Andrea, and niece Tia Rose).
In an email, the family states: “Consistent with David’s wishes, there will be a gathering for close friends and family to celebrate and remember him — the time, date and location for this as yet to be determined.”
A more detailed story with reactions from Canada’s philatelic community will be published in an upcoming issue of Canadian Stamp News.