Dear Barbara,

It sounds like your slit shell is a westralis.  (5 inches would be big for
an africana).  Westralis is the most common slit shell and is worth about
55 to 95 dollar in F+/gem condition with complete data.  A shell without
data has no real collector or scientific value to me and I think if you
spend much money on a shell it is better to save up to buy a real nice
specimen in F+/Gem condition.  Many starting collectors spend money on
second rate shells and then when they become more advanced they sort of
regret these purchases.  Of course is the price is really low...

Regarding the fake slit shells you should not really worry if the shell you
saw came from an old collection and is not in very good condition.  Fake
shells tend to be nicer than the real thing.

Hope this information will help you out a bit and good luck with the shell,
Rika







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