Aloha!
Fantastic thread on a worthy subject. Even though I was president of the
Hawaiian Malacological Society, i've felt the HMS-ISGS of the 70's needed a
up-grade. At the time a grading system was needed since correspondence with
pictures & typed letters took weeks whereas now it's a punch of a key.

I like the 1-10 system suggested. But it can be further re-fined. Say a
Cypraea guttata not quite Gem but better than Fine might rate F+-G or Fine+.
Under the 1-10 system it might be advertised as 9-9.5 thus giving some
flexibility. In all things it comes down to interpretation. What's Fine to
me maybe Fine+ to someone else.

I do like the observations of Rich. Every dealer interpretes a shell
differently. You just need to get the "feel" of a individual. Nowadays with
digital cameras & emailing, multiple pictures play a important part of shell
acquisitions & descriptions.                                Mahalo!  CHRIS:)

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