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GENERAL INFORMATION

GRADING OF SPECIMEN SEASHELLS:  (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.

REFERENCES:

You will find the information on the specific publications used for reference in the header section of the relevant price list (i.e. CONIDAE list). However in most cases, we used several publications plus our own Australian and worldwide locality refs. If in doubt, please contact us via e-mail with your query. If you are looking for a specimen with particular colour / pattern, please by all means refer to a particular page / image in a shell book - our seashell reference library is extensive - and we most likely can compare your ref. to find a match.

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 an image?

2) What would you like in exchange? To start negotiations, please send us a description of your offer with a suggested retail value in US$. 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 or trade. If you can't find suitable shells to trade for on our lists, please let us know what other shell species you are looking for in exchange. We may be able to track down your desired item(s) for you - contact us.

TRADE SHOWS / EVENTS 2010:

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

19th - 21st February, 2010
NATIONAL AUSTRALIAN SHELL SHOW PERTH 2010 - venue: 'South Fremantle Football Club' (aka 'Freo Oval'), Parry St., Fremantle, WA, Australia (opposite Fremantle Markets). No WA Shell Club website, for infos e-mail: merv@perthshells.com.au , area & travel info at: http://www.freofocus.com .

6th - 7th March, 2010
INTERNATIONAL SHELL SHOW PARIS - venue: 'Bourse de Commerce', 2 rue de Viarmes, Paris 2nd, France - AFC website: http://www.xenophora.org - e-mail: wantiez.mada@wanadoo.fr

24th April, 2010
NATIONAL BRITISH SHELL SHOW - venue: 'Theydon Bois Community Centre', Coppice Row (B172), Theydon Bois, CM16 7ER, UK - BSCC website: http://www.britishshellclub.org.uk/ - e-mail: tom@tomwalker.co.uk

15th to 16th May, 2010
 18th BVC INTERNATIONAL SHELL SHOW ANTWERP - NEW VENUE: 'Extratime Sports Hall', Louisalei 24, 2660 Hoboken (Antwerp), Belgium, Ph: +31 - 3-8295 125. BVC website: http://www.bvc-gloriamaris.be , for infos e-mail Charles Krijnen: bvc.shellshow@planet.nl, Ph: +31-13-4630 607, venue website: http://www.extratime.be/sport.html, area & travel info at: http://www.antwerpen.be .

 27th to 31st August, 2010

COA / CONCHOLOGISTS OF AMERICA ANNUAL CONVENTION - venue 2010: 'The Boston Park Plaza Hotel', 50 Park Plaza & Arlington Street, Boston, MA. For infos Ph: Don Robak +1-617- 889-1841 or e-mail: shellsnail@comcast.net or Warren Graff +1-978-749-3351 or e-mail: wgraff@vicr.com, club website: www.conchologistsofamerica.org, venue website: http://www.bostonparkplaza.com/, area and travel info: http://www.cityofboston.gov/visitors/.

 

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: 08-11-09