HOWARD GIBBS AND JOHNNY UNITAS

Richard Crosby writes:

Larry Dziubek writes:

LEFT: Howard D. Gibbs

RIGHT: Howard D. Gibbs with Harry Zeigschmidt, at that time the oldest living collector in Western Pennsylvania

Before we get to the answer, let’s review a little about Johnny Unitas.

John Constantine Unitas (1933-2002) was born in Pittsburgh to Francis J. Unitas and Helen Superfisky. His father died when he was five and he was raised by his mother.

Unitas played professional football with the Baltimore Colts and was voted most valuable player in 1959, 1964 and 1967. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979. Late in life he suffered from injuries incurred while playing football.

The mother of Johnny Unitas, Helen Superfisky, remarried Howard Gibbs. Thus, Howard Gibbs is the answer to the question of the week.

Howard Dunleath Gibbs was born in Pittsburgh on March 11, 1895. He married Louise H. Fellows in 1913 and they had a son and a daughter. At the time of the 1940 Census, he was married to Dorothy Brownhill with two young daughters. Later in life he married Helen Superfisky Unitas.

In 1917 he listed his employment as a stenographer with the Bureau of Mines. In 1930 he was listed as a salesman with a coal company. He rose through the company to regional manager for the Pittsburgh Coal Company and was a director of the Retail Coal Merchants of Western Pennsylvania Association. He was also director of the American Trucking Association.

He joined the ANA as member 1949 in 1917. Gibbs was a serious collector of Odd and Curious money and assembled a collection estimated at more than 200,000 items. He corresponded with missionaries in Africa and around the world looking for curious money. A major addition to his collection came when he acquired the copper coins collected by Ole Ecklund. Coins from his collection and estate were included in a bakers-dozen sales by Schulman during 1951 to 1972.

Gibbs served as president of the Pittsburgh Coin Club. He was a patron of the American Numismatic Society and a fellow of the Royal Numismatic Societies of England and Belgium.

Among his credits would be the title of Director of the Pittsburgh Numismatic Museum. He used this title to obtain an example of Yap stone money for this museum. However, this institution was a one-person operation located at his residence.

Gibbs died in Pittsburgh on his seventy-fifth birthday, March 11, 1970.

Wayne Homren has scheduled a talk on Gibbs during the 2021 ANA World’s Fair of Money.

Pete Smith writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
HOWARD GIBBS, PRINCE OF PRIMITIVE MONEY (https://www.coinbooks.org/v24/esylum_v24n31a13.html)
EDGAR HOLMES ADAMS (https://www.coinbooks.org/v24/esylum_v24n31a20.html)

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web