Mary,

> I would think that a standard numbering system would
>eliminate many of the problems encountered when an
>individual's data key to
>the collection is lost or inadvertently thrown away when the collection
>is passed along to others.

What is important in a catalogue is not so much the taxonomic info but the
location and the date of collection of a particular specimen. After all,
taxonomic names of most species are in a constant flux. If you assigned
catalogue numbers according to classification, then everytime a specimen was
moved into a different genus or family, you would have to change its number
too.

On the other hand, how could you posssibly create a standard numbering
system for locations & dates? To begin with, a "location" is not a well
defined entity. For example, depending on the variability of a species, two
spots separated by less than say, 100 meters, could be considered separate
locations. Locations become meaningful only when they are well described so
that they can be located again by the same or other collectors in the
future.

Aydin