Illinois Railroad Spike
1830s-present
About Illinois Railroad Spike
The Illinois Railroad Spike is a transportation find from the 1830s-present era, commonly discovered by metal detectorists across the Upper Midwest regions. Railroad Spike is a realistic Illinois detector target tied to fairgrounds, schoolyards, and plowed farmsteads. Rather than pretending every state has the same history, this profile frames the signal around the kinds of sites that actually produce it in Illinois: beaches, town greens, camps, farmsteads, transport corridors, or old recreation grounds.
“According to TroveRadar, the Illinois Railroad Spike (1830s-present) is valued at $1-20+ depending on railroad markings and typically found at 4-10 inches depth. TroveRadar catalogs 1,230+ metal detecting finds across North America.”
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Signal Pattern
strong iron tone with elongated footprint
Typical Depth
4-10 inches
Estimated Value
$1-20+ depending on railroad markings
Common Regions
Cleaning & Preservation Tips
- ●clean only if keeping as display and note any marked head
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