It has become tremendously hard to find Gem Slider Dahlonega half eagles of any date; even the more common ones like the 1843-D. My theory is that many of the former AU58 coins were ruined in an attempt to garner a higher grade and most of the surviving examples have been cherished members of advanced collections for years. Its been many months since I’ve had an AU58 that was as nice as this example.   
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Given the fact that this is the most common quarter eagle from this mint and it is among the best produced, the 1843-D is a perfect type coin for the collector who is becoming interested in Dahlonega gold. This deep green-gold example is original and choice with a good deal of dirt in the recesses of the obverse and reverse. It is sharply detailed and has good overall eye appeal for the date and grade.   
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Of the three primary denominations struck at the Dahlonega mint, the quarter eagle is probably the most difficult to locate in choice, original Extremely Fine. Despite how hard it is to find such coins, these pieces are not out of reach for most collectors and I think they are amongst the best values in the rare date gold arena.   
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The 1840-D is the fourth rarest quarter eagle from this mint in terms of overall rarity. But it is probably the second rarest–after the 1856-D–when it comes to locating pieces with original surfaces and color. Only 3,532 were struck and this numismatically significant issue (it is the first Liberty Head quarter eagle from Dahlonega) is an exceedingly hard coin to find with good eye appeal.   
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Sure, every gold coin collector would love to have an unlimited budget. But few do. Is it possible to be an individual of average or slightly above-average means and still be a collector of U.S. gold? I contend that the answer is a resounding “yes” and I’d like to suggest a dozen collecting areas that are priced at $2,500 or less. My basic parameters are that each is undervalued, interesting to collect and they can be found with some patience.

Instead of focusing on specific issues (which, for the collector, can be like finding a needle in a haystack) I’m going to be a bit more general and focus on small groups or subsets of coins. Not every date within this group may be of interest to the collector (or fall within the parameters of affordability that we have established) but enough will qualify to make them worthy of serious consideration.