Gold

A placer gold grain with a little quartz still attached, from the historic Fortymile River Mines, collected from the stretch between the mouth of Franklin Creek and the Canadian border in the Fortymile River. Weighing 0.20 grams, the grain shows the softly rounded yet still irregular form typical of Fortymile placer gold, shaped by prolonged transport and reworking in river gravels. Pieces like this are classic survivors of one of the earliest and most important gold-producing regions in the North American North.

Locality note: gold was first discovered near the mouth of the Fortymile River in 1886, followed closely by discoveries on Franklin Gulch in Alaska in 1887. Fortymile gold remains highly collectible today for its historical pedigree and unmistakable provenance.