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GENERAL INFORMATION

 

SPECIMEN SEASHELL DATA:

 

- LOCALITY:  Country or region where the specimen was found; may also include a local variant /form name or subspecies designation.

 

- DESCRIPTION:

1) Specimen size in millimetres, which always represents the largest measurable distance between the outermost points of a specimen (only exception from this rule are Spondylidae and other spiny Bivalves, where the body is measured without spines).

2) Features, which may include remarks on occurrence, condition, shape, colour, pattern, presentation and/or major differences to other forms of the same species.

3) Some species (i.e. Melongenidae) require info on presence or absence of an operculum (shell door) or periostricum (fuzzy natural outer coating).

4) References to previously published information or images (see below).

 

- GRADING:  (Viewed under good lighting with the naked eye).

GEM

- Shells are without any discernible blemish or flaw. The specimen will be fully adult and of typical size.

F++ / GEM

- Shells that have a very minor flaw or blemish which is hard to perceive, shows up only under close scrutiny and in no way detracts from the look of the shell.

F++

- Shells have a noticeable flaw or blemish which does not detract from the look of the shell.

F+ / F++

- Shells have more than one noticeable flaw, growth line or blemish consistent with the species, but the overall presentation is very good. These shells are generally excellent value and suitable for aesthetically pleasing collections, being considerably less expensive than GEM specimens.

F+

- Shells with small chips, noticeable growth lines, nacre lifts, blemishes or other obvious flaws, where the overall appearance and presentation of the shell is obviously not perfect. NOTE: Several large sized or rare species are only available in F+ condition or less.

F / F+

- Shells with major chips, growth lines, nacre lifts, blemishes or other obvious flaws. Very fresh dead collected but otherwise good specimens are also often classed as F/F+.

NOTE: Some shell species are only available in F/F+ condition or less.

F or DEAD

- Shells that are either badly damaged, obviously juvenile or dead, but suitable as a representative of the species or for study purposes.

NOTE: Some shell species are only available in F or dead condition.

Obviously no grading system can possibly do justice to every specimen available and most SPECIMEN SEASHELLS will require further description. NOTE: All our DECOSHELLS listed items are non-graded and intended for decoration only.

- PRICE: All Specimen Shell prices are listed in Australian Dollars (AUD), not including GST (Australian sales tax).

 

- DATA LABELS: All Specimen Shells will always be sold with as much data as is available on locality and habitat. Details available for each item largely depend on the source.

We regularly scuba-dive for seashells ourselves and any of our own items usually will be supplied with extremely accurate GPS position data within a 100m radius. Whereas trawled shells will obviously carry much less specific information, depending on which boat they came from and how accurately trawl or fishing records were kept.

 

- REFERENCES:

References are listed in the header section of the relevant price list. In most cases, we use several publications plus our own Australian and worldwide locality info. If in doubt, please contact us via e-mail with your query. If you are looking for a specimen with particular colour / pattern or from a particular area, please let us know your reference (particular page / image in a shell book). Most likely we can compare and match the shell.

 

TRADING / EXCHANGE OF SEASHELLS:

We usually restrict our trading to our own collecting interest: We will always try to acquire rare and unusual Pectinidae and will exchange for them just about any specimen shell from our lists. The only other items we would consider trading for are either very good quality Cypraeidae, Conidae or Volutes - or rare & newly described species. We would like to know:

1) Are there any Pectens among the shells you are offering - if so, which species? What else can you offer? Can you send us images?

2) What would you like in exchange? To start negotiations, please send us a description of your offer with a suggested retail value. Please also include a list of items that you would like in exchange and please mention that you would like to offer the shell(s) in question for exchange. If you can't find anything suitable to trade for on our lists, please let us know what you are looking for in exchange - we may be able to help.

TRADE SHOWS / EVENTS 2012:

We will be presenting specimen shells for sale at the following international shell shows: 

SAT/SUN, March 3th and 4th, 2012
INTERNATIONAL SHELL SHOW PARIS - venue: 'Espace Charenton', 327 rue de Charenton, 75012 Paris, France - AFC website: http://www.xenophora.org - e-mail: perrine.dardart@gmail.com   

SAT/SUN, April 14th and 15th, 2012
NATIONAL AUSTRALIAN SHELL SHOW - venue: 'Goodwood Community Centre', 32 Rosa St., Goodwood, South Australia (Adelaide). Bourse contact: South Australian Malacological Society, Wayne Rumball, 53 Hui Hui Drive, Happy Valley, SA 5159, Australia. E-mail: gayraider@picknowl.com.au.

SAT, 28th April 2012
NATIONAL BRITISH SHELL SHOW - venue: 'Theydon Bois Community Centre', Coppice Row (B172), Theydon Bois, Essex CM16 7ER, UK - BSCC website: http://www.britishshellclub.org - e-mail: john@whicher.plus.com

SAT/SUN, May 19th and 20th, 2012
 INTERNATIONAL SHELL SHOW ANTWERP - 'Extratime Sports Hall', Louisalei 24, 2660 Hoboken (Antwerp), Belgium, Ph: +31 - 3-8295 125. Belgian Shell Club, BVC website: www.bvc-gloriamaris.be/beurs_e.htm, Contact: Charles Krijnen, Ph: +31-13-4630 607,  e-mail bvc.shellshow@planet.nl, venue website: http://www.extratime.be/sport.html, area & travel info at: http://www.antwerpen.be.


 

ADDITIONAL INFO: Find additional information on pricing, ordering, shipping, refunds, available payment methods and our money back guarantee on the Ordering page.

 

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Last modified: 20-02-12