Matt Draiss is an nationally known rare coin dealer who has handled coins across all areas from ancient times to modern times. He is an award winning writer and speaker who has been nationally published and has given a combined total of 17 talks, interviews, and speeches all about numismatics. He was awarded the Dr. Kenneth Sartoris Speaker Award from the Albany Numismatic Society in 2010 where he
is the 2nd vice president. David Bowers Literary Contest, and in 2014 he took 2nd place in the Kenneth Bresset Literary Contest. He has been published in CoinWeek, Numismatic News, COINage Magazine, and the Coin Dealer Newsletter, all of which are leading hobby publications. Matt has also written for the Heritage Auctions blog, where his work has been seen by people around the world. He also is the author of "In the Money", a column published in 4 newspapers across the Capital Region and the Hudson Valley. Matt belongs to the American Numismatic Association, the Numismatic Literary Guild, Florida United Numismatists, CONECA, The Civil War Token Society, the Albany Numismatic Society, and the Society of Paper Money Collectors. His particular areas of interest include but are not limited to the following: the Liberty Nickel, Hard Times and Civil War Tokens, Obsolete Bank Notes, Merchant Scrip, National Bank Notes, the coinage and currency of Biafra, and numismatic memorabilia (books, advertisements, auction catalogs, U.S. Matt is an up and coming star in numismatic and wants to be a full time dealer on the national circuit someday. Matt buys, sells, appraises, and consults on all areas of numismatics. He is also a former intern with Heritage Auctions, the world's number one rare coin firm.An article was done on the award and article he wrote regarding Civil War Tokens. This was published in the Civil War Token Society Journal. Matt has been interviewed by Hudson Valley Magazine and has been a guest on radio programming. Matt has attended the American Numismatic Association's Florence Shook School of Numismatics and taken courses in Intermediate and Advanced Coin Grading, Counterfeit Detection of U.S. In 2014, Matt interned with the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation in Florida(the world's most respected coin grading service) and he was also selected to serve on the Board of Directors of CONECA on Board Seat 8. His responsibilities include running the annual banquet for the club and being a liaison to the American Numismatic Association. Matt has done work for some of the leading coin dealers in upstate NY to some of the most influential in the entire world. Matt also has extensive knowledge and contacts in many other collectible fields. He works an estate auction house (which is one the most respected auction houses in upstate NY), brokers collectibles, and consults on where to take prized collectibles outside of numismatics. Collecting Facts:
Matt owns the finest known large size national bank note from Catskill, NY. Catskill had 2 banks that issued notes. His is a 1902 $10 Plain Back Blue Serial in a PCGS Currency CU-63 PPQ holder. Matt collects NY Hard Times Tokens, NY Civil War Tokens, the Liberty Nickel, and NY obsolete banks notes/merchant scrip. Some of the notes that he owns are extremely rare. Matt is also a proud 3rd generation firefighter and is a Class A Firefighter with the Athens Volunteer Fire Department. He has extensive ties to emergency services running on both sides of his family. He is a member of the Greene County Volunteer Firefighter's Association and the Firefighter's Association State of New York. He enjoys taking continuous fire training. He also enjoys traveling, going out to eat, listening to electronic music, spending time with friends, and purebred Boxers and Siamese cats.
