I’m Charles Doyle and I produce replicas of Ancient Greek, Roman, Biblical, and colonial American coins.
Is there a story behind your business?
Peter Rosa started this in the 1950’s and 1960’s. He was able to obtain plaster cast of coins in the British Museum in London. He then made dies and production models for casting them. I do not know the exact number of different coins he produced, but it was well over 800. I started working with him as a teenager up to the time I went into the Navy. By the time I got out of the Navy, he was not producing coins anymore because the major coin publication would no longer accept ads for coin reproductions. This was well before the internet age, so it was the only way to get new business.
I went off to college and got a degree in engineering and started a career with IBM.
After he passed in 1990, I stored much of his work in a garage where it sat for about 20 years.
Thinking about what I was going to do after retirement I started to look into resurrecting manufacturing coin replicas again. I tested selling some of the replicas I put away as a teenager on eBay. After finding that there was interest in the coin replicas, I started buying equipment to manufacture them again. Besides selling on eBay, I launched a website in 2010.
What problem(s) are you/your business trying to help solve?
The purpose of our work is to make the art of the ancients available to the collector of all levels and means.
They are also great for educational purposes. Each coin has a history to tell.
How is your company changing the world?
Providing rare coins at an affordable price for collectors and for historical study.
Why do you like being a part of the bigger CI Works puzzle?
The ability to collaborate with other tenants. Before CI Works I was very isolated working out of my garage.
What do you hope your company’s next milestone will be?
Looking forward to hiring my first employee in the near future.
Are there any causes you are passionate about?
I am very passionate about the environment and the mess we have gotten ourselves into with disposal plastic.
What is your biggest fear?
“Only Thing We Have to Fear Is Fear Itself”
Franklin D. Roosevelt
What is your proudest accomplishment?
Raising three children that are now beautiful adults.
What advice do you have for other small businesses?
To strive for excellence in everything they do.
For more information on Coin Replicas, click here.