I have been left an old thirty=something shell collection by a conchologist
from sanibel island. The collection is quite extensive in my opinion because
the shells come from all over the world and there are so many of them. They
were left to me by her daughter who recently passed away. She was ill and
didn't want to do any-thing with them and because I had her son in my third
grade class and I did a unit on the ocean she decided to leave the shell
collection to me figuring I'd do something special with for the school. As I
unwrapped some of the shells I found each one had scientifid names and some
common names and the locations of the shells. There were also some fish
specimens and a 40 million year old fossil of a brachiopod(sp?) . I had this
researched by a local marine biologist at URI - School of Marine Biology. Some
of these shells I am donating to the shcool where I teach where a committee
and myself have raised funds  to have a special plexiglass display built into
our library for all the students to enjoy. However, I still have jars and jars
left of many different kinds of shells from all over the world. I have no idea
of the value or the desirability of these shells. I was hoping someone could
help me  out by  steering me in the  right direction. Are there any
conchologists in New England who I might be able to get in contact with. Do I
have shells that may be extinct or illegal because of their age? Most of these
shells are to me in excellent condition. They have been stored in mayonnaise
jars wrapped in tissue paper for many years. What can I do or who can I
contact to get more information on this shell collection that I've acquired?
Thanks for any help you may give me. Please e-mail.