THE HOWARD D. GIBBS ARCHIVES

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V23 2020 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 23, Number 8, February 23, 2020, Article 11

Bob Leonard mentioned another recent Newman Portal addition in the February 2020 issue of the International Primitive Money Society newsletter: the archives of primitive money collector Howard D. Gibbs of Pittsburgh. -Editor

IPMS friend Wayne Homren advises, "I have an archive of material from Odd and Curious Money collector Howard Gibbs of Pittsburgh. I shipped everything to the Newman Numismatic Portal and it's been digitized: https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/archivedetail/533970."

While somewhat spotty in the early years, this archive covers 1927-1973, but the Zoom in feature will need to be used to read them. The first entry, dated to 1927, actually houses a letter written in 1968, however. But the next is a letter from Dr. J. van der Hoop, Batavia, Netherlands East Indies, written August 8, 1938, concerning the acquisition of two brass drums from Alor, shipped to him at the "Pittsburgh Numismatic Museum" July 29, 1939.

One of the most interesting items is Gibbs's letter of August 1, 1947, describing his collection and providing anecdotes of how he obtained certain items (he hoped that philanthropist Paul Mellon would acquire the collection and house it in a museum, but this never happened and the Gibbs Collection was broken up and sold in a series of Hans M. F. Schulman auctions).

The 1955 file contains fascinating details of Gibbs' partnership with Schulman, with prices, comments on buyers, etc.

I have not had time to review the entire archive, but it has information on the sources of many pieces, of interest to collectors having material with Gibbs pedigrees.

I'm probably to blame if any of the Gibbs papers are misfiled. The archive arrived as a mess - I'd collected it from the home of fellow Western Pennsylvania Numismatic Society member Emerson Smith, working one room ahead of a crew tossing everything left into a dumpster. It was my "if Indiana Jones Were a numismatist" moment, grabbing things in a near panic before catching the last chopper out of Saigon.

The Mellon letter is my favorite, too. I also recall learning from my friend Glenn Mooney, who was a volunteer at the Carnegie Museum of Pittsburgh's coin collection, that one day a box addressed to the "Pittsburgh Numismatic Museum" was mistakenly delivered to Carnegie Museum instead of Gibbs' home - that was when they learned that many of Gibbs' correspondents around the world thought they were giving or selling coins to an actual museum. -Editor

To check out the Gibbs archive on the newman Numismatic Portal, see:
Howard D. Gibbs Archives (https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/archivedetail/533970)

"We issue a newsletter three times a year and meet once or twice a year at conventions. We have a meeting at the National Money Show in Atlanta and will meet again in Pittsburgh. Dues are a ridiculously low $5 per year, payable as $10 for two years to Carl Wolf, IPMS, 1055 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., #F-335, Chicago, IL 60660."

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