There are a few relatively unknown but numismatically significant varieties of early United States gold coinage that I think are likely to be included in comprehensive collections of these issues as they become more popular with collectors. Here are a few of the “secret” varieties that I would suggest collectors be on the lookout for. 1798 Close Date and Wide Date Quarter Eagles.   
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During 2009, I wrote a series of “ten rarest” articles on all the major denominations of Liberty Head gold coinage. These articles were well-received and I enjoyed producing them. It’s a logical progression to apply this topic to the early gold series. Except it’s not quite that easy. The eagle denomination is very short-lived (1795-1804) making a ten rarest study impractical.   
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Dually popular as a one-year type and a first-year-of-issue, the 1796 No Stars is among the most desirable early United States gold coins. It is actually less rare than its With Stars counterpart but it is traditionally valued more highly and is certainly held in greater esteem by most collectors.   
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In the early part of 2003, an excellent book entitled “The 100 Greatest United States Coins” was published by H.E. Harris. The coins were selected by a panel of experts including myself. The 1854-S quarter eagle was only listed as #87 and was outranked by a number of more common gold issues including the 1915-S Octagonal and Round Pan-Pacific $50 gold pieces, the 1879 Flowing Hair Stella and the 1848 “CAL” quarter eagle.   
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For the first quarter of the 19th century, production of gold coinage was sporadic. Quarter eagles were produced intermittently and in very small numbers during this era. Half eagles saw the bulk of production but they were primarily storehouses of value and traveled from bank to bank. The eagle denomination was discontinued in 1804 and would not be resurrected until 1838.   
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