Coffey's expertise in Judaica and Israeli art derived from the NCMA's role as a repository of material gifted to the Museum by some of North Carolina's smaller Jewish communities when they could no long sustain their synagogues and wished to preserve their ritual silverware for posterity. Coffey's role in establishing the Judaic Gallery at the NCMA, "one of only two permanent displays of Jewish ceremonial art in an American art museum," has included playing a role in the acquisition "of approximately two-thirds of the pieces on view." In 2013, well after the Gallery's establishment, he put together an effort to compete with bidders from around the world during an auction of Judaica at Sotheby's that netted the Museum three new pieces. In other roles, Coffey has been the NCMA's liaison with the Friends of the Judaic Art Gallery as well as the statewide director of the Israel/North Carolina Cultural Exchange between 1994-97. The latter role involved travel to Israel and led to his work on contemporary Israeli painting. Moshe Kupferman: Between Oblivion and Remembrance was among the results. His research on the provenance of work in the NCMA has led to some expertise on the issue of art appropriated by the Nazis.
