President Warren G. Harding drove a golden spike into the final coupling of the Alaska Railroad more than a century ago, a ceremonial act that marked the launch of a system to easily bring coal and other natural resources out of the wilderness.
Harding would die of a massive heart attack just a few days later, on his way back to Washington, D.C. The spike he pounded with such fanfare — weighing nearly a pound and valued at up to $50,000 — has been in private hands outside of the state ever since.
