Golden Spike Marking the Completion of the Alaska Railroad to Be Auctioned Off

ANCHORAGE, Alaska—More than a century ago, President Warren G. Harding ceremonially drove a golden spike into the final connection of the Alaska Railroad, signifying the initiation of a vital system for transporting coal and other natural resources from the remote wilderness.

Tragically, Harding passed away just days later from a heart attack while returning to Washington. The spike he drove—with a weight of nearly a pound and worth up to $50,000—has since remained in private ownership outside of Alaska.

Now, two institutions in Alaska are eager to reclaim this historical artifact. The Anchorage Museum, with support from the Alaska Railroad, intends to bid on the 14-karat solid gold spike, which is set to be auctioned on Friday in New York as part of Christie’s Important Americana collection, according to Aaron Leggett, the museum’s senior curator for Alaska history and Indigenous cultures.

“The entire history of our state, and particularly the history of this city, is rooted in the Alaska Railroad,” Leggett remarked about Anchorage and Alaska’s broader narrative.

The 5 1/2-inch spike is being sold by a private California owner who has had it since 1983. The Alaska Railroad, initially constructed, owned, and operated by the federal government, was sold to the state for $22 million in 1985.

The railroad was established to facilitate development in what was then the Alaska territory, linking the port city of Seward on the south-central coast to Fairbanks, 470 miles away in the interior.

The construction of the railroad spanned from 1914 to 1923, forever changing Alaska’s landscape and economy. Meghan Clemens, the railroad’s external affairs director, noted that this project had a “transformative effect on the last century of Alaska’s history.” Alaska did not gain statehood until 1959.

Even today, there are limited highways in Alaska, the largest state in the U.S., with the most traveled route following the same corridor as the railroad from Seward to Fairbanks. Approximately 75% of Alaska’s 740,000 residents inhabit this area known as the rail belt, illustrating the critical role the railroad played in the state’s economic development.

“Had it not been for the Alaska Railroad choosing Anchorage as its headquarters, the city we know today would not exist,” Leggett remarked, noting that Seward was the more obvious choice, yet the government opted for a less favorable muddy site along Ship Creek in what is now downtown Anchorage.

U.S. Army Col. Frederick Mears, an engineer with experience from the Panama Canal, garnered attention from President Woodrow Wilson, who envisioned a new railroad for the Alaska territory. In his 1913 State of the Union address, Wilson highlighted the railroad’s importance in accessing Alaska’s coal and minerals.

As the project neared completion, the Army dispatched Mears to Seattle in March 1923, just four months prior to Harding’s visit. Before departing, the city of Anchorage gifted him the golden spike as a token of gratitude for his efforts. He subsequently sent it back from Seattle for Harding’s ceremonial event in Nenana, a community located in interior Alaska. Notably, Harding became the first sitting president to visit Alaska.

During the grand event on July 15, 1923, Harding gently tapped the golden spike twice with a maul—a hammer now displayed behind glass at the railroad headquarters—before driving a regular spike. Shortly thereafter, the golden spike was returned to Mears as Harding commenced his lengthy journey back to Washington. He tragically suffered a fatal heart attack and died in San Francisco on August 2, 1923.

Since that fateful day, the spike has remained largely unseen, apart from a brief exhibition during the 1967 centennial of the U.S. acquisition of Alaska from Russia.

According to Christopher June, a junior specialist at Christie’s who spent his childhood in Anchorage, the spike is in pristine condition and shows minimal signs of wear from its use. “I believe it certainly holds significant interest for the state,” June stated. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the eventual purchaser is someone from Alaska.”

By Mark Thiessen