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Alaska gold nuggets: history and characteristics

Alaska is one of the world’s great placer gold regions. Its nuggets, polished for thousands of years by rivers and glaciers, are among the most sought after by collectors.

Three gold rushes

The story of gold in Alaska began in 1880 in Juneau. In the late 19th century the Klondike gold rush, just across the Canadian border, drew thousands of prospectors north, and many carried on into Alaska. In 1899 gold was found on the beaches of Nome, and in 1902 around Fairbanks, which became the great mining centre of the interior.

How it is mined today

Most Alaskan gold is placer gold: flakes and nuggets that water tore from the veins and deposited in the beds of rivers and creeks. Today it is worked by small family operations that wash the gravel through sluices during the short summer, when the ground thaws. Recreational panning and metal detecting are also very popular.

What Alaska nuggets are like

• Rounded shapes and smooth surfaces, from their long journey in the water.
• Intense yellow colour, sometimes with paler areas due to their natural silver content.
• Traces of quartz or oxides in some cavities, which confirm their natural origin.
• A wide range of sizes, from grains of a few tenths of a gram to pieces of several grams.

Why they are so popular

An Alaska nugget combines the appeal of native gold with the history of the last great gold rushes. Their shine and organic shapes make them ideal for collections and for handmade jewellery too.

At Gold Nuggets Minerals most of the nuggets we auction come from Alaska. You can find them on our home page with the “Alaska” filter.