Helmet,
My first shells collected were augers from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina when
I was about 6 years old.  My family would vacation there every summer when I
was a child and  I would spend hours digging through the shell debris to find
the perfect augers.  At the time I did not know the scientific name for them
so I just called them "twirley shells".  A family friend also showed a
passion for this particular shell and together we spent a lot of time hunched
over and straining our eyes to find our treasures.  I will always remember
the excitement we would feel when we would finally find one after a couple
hours of searching.  It was well worth it.  I still have them in a small
perfume bottle displayed beside the shells I have purchased since I started
collecting seriously about 2 years ago.

cheers,
Holly Sadowski