Some Things I've Found While Detecting

[Steve Herschbach]

Alaska is new country, with older mines just over 100 years old, most much less. The majority of workings are bulldozer, dragline, or bucket line dredge tailings. Buttons are a rare find actually though I got a few now and then, but usually WW2 and newer vintage. Bullets and shell casings are by far the most common non-ferrous finds, mostly from the miners living off wild game.

1800's era coins in Alaska are very, very rare. That one with the hole is the only one ever for me in Alaska. Usually I would aspire to 1930s or 1940s as the "old coins". I only ever found a few coins in Alaska 1920s or older.