USAF veteran Charles Warren shares currency collection, history with youth
For 38 years, Noblesville resident Charles Warren served in the United States Air Force on active and reserve duty. For the past 50 years Warren has been preserving America’s history and sharing it with others by collecting coins and medallions.
Warren, 66, began his collection in high school.
“Everyone was coin collecting in the ’60s. Most of my friends collected coins, I just stayed with it,” he said. “I moved from stamps to coins.”
His love led Warren to become a numismatist – the study, science and collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals and related objects. Warren was the Indiana representative for more than 20 years in the ANA. Each February, he exhibits his display cases at local schools and universities as part of Black History Month.
“I really enjoy getting out and the kids come up and have never heard of it (the history),” he said. “Some of the older people who see the collection will reminisce about when the Booker T. Washington or George Washington Carver coins came out.”
While smaller now, at its peak in the ’70s and ’80s Warren had accumulated more than 10,000 items and expanded to include foreign currency.
“I got rid of a lot of it,” he said, adding part was sold and part was lost in a storage unit while serving in the Middle East. “I had 18 display cases covering foreign currency to tax tokens and Great Depression medals.”
One of his favorite pieces is the Jackie Robinson commemorative gold dollar, but the jewel in Warren’s collection is antislavery tokens from the 1830s.
“They are the hardest to find because there weren’t too many of them made,” he said.
Warren’s tokens are of a female in chains. He said a similar version with a male was made but the U.S. Mint stepped in.
“They were the size of a penny at that time, which is about a quarter today and made out of copper. Only five were printed and each is valued at six figures,” he said. “You won’t see it in my collection, I’ll tell you that.”
His display serves as a history lesson for younger viewers and he hopes it spurs an interest in collecting items.
“I hope it sparks their interest in history,” he said. “Maybe one or two will decide to get into that area – the idea of collecting and knowledge. When I picked this up, I did better all around in school and with my grades. Until that time I was going to school but wasn’t too interested.”
For those interested in collecting, Warren’s advice is to read and learn.
“I tell anyone to read all you can on coin collecting,” he said. “When I first started I didn’t know you weren’t supposed to clean a coin because it hurts the value. There is a lot of information to know what you are looking at.”
Warren suggests utilizing the library, internet and even becoming a member of the American Numismatic Association.
“There is a lot of new material out there and new currency items at the U.S. Mint,” he said.
Warren said one of the biggest changes since he began is the amount of African American items.
“Broken bank notes had African Americans on it. Confederate currency had a picture of a slave working in the fields or picking cotton. Now it’s hard to track and find genuine confederate currency,” he said. “There’s been a lot to come out in the last 10 years.”
In addition to collecting African American items, Warren also has assembled signatures of four of the five Black Registers of the Treasury (Blanche K. Bruce, 1881-1885; Judson W. Lyons, 1898-1906; William T. Vernon, 1906-1911; James C. Napier, 1911-1913; and Louis B. Toomer, 1953-1956).
“Only four signed currency,” Warren said. “Toomer didn’t sign because the register was no longer required to sign.”
Since he is retired, Warren plans to try and display his collection more and travel around.
“I like to go around to conventions,” he said. “I hope I can get my kids interested in it. I want them to take it over. Not to sell, so other people can see it.”
Did you know?
● The last old type U.S. Commemorative silver half dollars were minted from 1951 to 1954 honoring two Black Americans? The obverse of the coins had busts of Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver. Washington was the largest quantity of old type half dollars ever minted.
● Past U.S. Treasurer Azie Taylor Morton, whose signature appears on currency, is an African American woman.
● The first African American to be honored with a U.S. gold dollar coin was Jackie Robinson, which was minted in 1997.
● African American sculptor Selma Hortense Burke was commissioned to design a profile of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The profile was later used as the basis for the image of Roosevelt on the dime.
● The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate each must approve a gold medal by a two-thirds vote. A gold medal is awarded to the person or descendant and bronze versions are available for collectors.
Meet Charles Warren
Age: 66
Birthplace: Indianapolis
Residence: Noblesville
Hobbies: Coin collecting and photography. I take a ton of photos. I’m always taking a lot of pictures. There were only places I couldn’t travel (while oversees) because I was restricted to the base – Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. I only took pictures of the sand there.
Military service: Master sgt. Air Force, Sept. 17, 1968 to Dec. 7, 2003. Warren served in the Vietnam War and Desert Storm. His unit was activated during Operation Iraqi Freedom but was never deployed.
Place he most wants to visit: Australia. I’ve always wanted to go there.
Coin he’d like to see the U.S. Mint create: The Martin Luther King, Jr. coin. I’ve waited for that for that too long. I have a picture of how the coin would look from 10 years ago. I’d order it early because I think it would sell out.
Personal quote: “Work hard and save.”
