Just a quick reply on selling large collections.  The options seem to
be:
 
- Sell to a dealer
- Sell to individuals
- Donate to a museum, shell club, or organization
- Don't do anything and let your survivors worry about it
 
Each has its pros and cons.  We had a pretty good discussion on all of
this at a shell club meeting about a year ago.  At the time I reported
it on Conch-L, but it may bear repeating (even if it doesn't, here it
is).
 
One of our members willed her rather nice collection to the local
natural history museum.  Because she works there as a docent she knows
that just to give them the shells means they will be boxed and stored in
a room in the back or sold.  To prevent this she also bequeathed a sum
of money sufficient to care for her collection.
 
Another of our members talked about donating her collection to COA.  But
she hadn't really made firm plans yet.
 
The rest of us agreed the kids could fight over who had to take the
shells (the worst way to handle this issue).
 
A point was made that many museums really do not want more shells unless
they are free to sell them in favor of something they really want.
After all, most museums are severely size and budget limited and thus
must select with care what they display or specialize in.  So if you are
thinking of donating to a museum, it would pay to check with the museum
before hand.  Of course, I would imagine a museum (not trying to speak
for them) like the Bailey-Matthews on Sanibel would gladly welcome shell
donations.
 
In the end we decided what was really needed was for the shells to
continue to give someone pleasure.  If they went to a dealer, then they
would probably be sold at a bit of a discount (I have often purchased
such deals) and end up in a collection where they are wanted. Similarly,
if donated to a shell club or shell organization, they end up with folks
who want them.
 
So those are the options we talked about.  I think we all agreed the
main thing was to think about what happens to your collection before it
just ends up in a garage (estate) sale.  Shells are a bit more permanent
them we are and can provide multiple generations with pleasure.  I have
a number of shells from old collections and this adds quite a bit to
their intrinsic value.  A note to dealers, if possible, please leave the
old data slip with the shell, it adds a great bit of history.
 
Tom Eichhorst in New Mexico, USA