Rare High Carbon Copper Railroad Spke Found!

Not doubting, just curious. What makes it rare? I'm not a railroad buff. Aside from the fabled golden spike, I thought they were all the same.
 

I would like to see pics but they not working. I also question what makes it rare, I am in the learning process on many things and I find a lot of railroad spikes.
 

Not sure I'd classify it as "rare", but as long as you're happy finding it, that's all that matters. Congrats!

Carbon Myth

According to specifications set forth by American Railway Engineering Association there are two classes of railroad spikes, low carbon track spikes used on straight sections of railroads and high carbon steel track spikes used on curves and switches. According to the specifications, low carbon spikes may contain no more than 0.12% carbon and "High Carbon" spikes may contain NO MORE THAN 0.30% carbon.
 

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