I've spoken in the past about my fellow Pittsburgh collector Howard D. Gibbs, who had an insatiable appetite for acquiring coins and often went to the ends of the earth like Indiana Jones to do so, particularly with his specialty of Odd and Curious (now known as Ethnographic) money.

This week I was contacted by a descendant of Gibbs who had seen a video of my talk on Gibbs. They shared a 1919 newspaper article about an incident I wasn't aware of, which "highlights the extent to which he would go to acquire coins." They didn't mind my sharing it here. -Editor

Twenty-four years old at the time, Gibbs was a college graduate and member of a prominent family. He'd begun collecting in 1902 and visited a coin exhibit set up at a downtown Pittsburgh bank by Farran Zerbe. That was his first exposure to "case after case of the strangest money." -Editor

"When I shared it with my family, including Gibbs' grandsons, they got a big kick out of it. It certainly fit with his personality.

"After coming upon the first article I was confused as to how Gibbs would've been able to establish himself within the collector community with a reputation as a thief. It turns out that Marlier later did not wish to press charges. Perhaps he recognized and respected the passion for collecting in a young man who did not yet have the resources to acquire what he wanted, and would cross moral boundaries to get it. If Marlier and Gibbs became friends after this, and Marlier kept Gibbs' secret, that would give some weight to that theory."

George Marlier was born in 1868 and lived nearly 100 years. He was American Numismatic Association member 102, joining on June 1, 1899. We can imagine, but probably never know what he thought of Howard Gibbs in later years. $4,000 was a *LOT* of money in 1919.

Marlier was a senior member of both the ANA and local Pittsburgh club the Western Pennsylvania Numismatic Society (WPNS). Gibbs was not a member of that group, but I believe he was a cofounder of a separate group, the Pittsburgh Numismatic Society (PNS). -Editor