I recently purchased a very unusual 1854-D Three Dollar gold piece. If you are even a casual aficionado of Southern gold coins, you are probably aware that a) the 1854-D is a rare and popular issue and b) it has a very established set of diagnostics. However, as this coin (and a few others) proves, not all 1854-D Three Dollar gold pieces are cut from the same cloth.   
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Will die varieties of gold coins ever be popular? For years I have tried to drum up interest in what I regard as major varieties of U.S. gold coins. By “major” I mean varieties that are significant and readily visible to the naked eye. Minor varieties do not interest me. The fact that that a mintmark is slightly further to the left on one coin versus another is mundane.   
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