It's been a busy summer for construction in Dawson City, Yukon - which means it's also been busy for the territory's archeologists.

The latest historical find was unearthed last week, as crews were building a new recreational trail. The workers stumbled upon a stack of 23 old Canadian and American coins,buried about 30 centimetres below ground.

They're all from the 19th century, and the oldest is dated 1864.

"These are coins that would have been in common circulation during the [Klondike] Gold Rush," said Christian Thomas, special projects archeologist from the Yukongovernment.

Yukoner Derek Crowe, who was part of the trail-building crew that found the coins, said he doesn't care much what the coins are worth. He just loves the mystery behindthem.

"The questions we're all asking is, 'Who was this person? Why did they leave it? What happened to them?'" Crowe said.

"The real treasure would be if the experts at Yukon Historic Sites and archeology are able to answer some of those questions. That would be just such a wonderful andcolourful story to add to this really neat trail."

The coins are now in the Dawson City town safe. Thomas said they may eventually go to the Dawson City Museum, but that hasn't been decided yet.

To read the complete article, see:
Rare find in Dawson City dates to Klondike Gold Rush(https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/dawson-city-old-coins-1.4811814)