ok-this means war.  i think the chap who invented Murphey's Law used to
own this "computer" (to use the term VERY loosely!)  Fortunately, there
are more than two ways to do everything in this  brave noodle world, so
let's try the third (and last!!)  one:
 
 
    A message to all those who are worried that their collections are
"scientifically worthless" without a vast amount of data: Take Heart!!
*NOT* to belittle the desirability of obtaining  as good data as
possible, the fact remains that a shell can have "value" in a wide
variety of ways, many of which do not require mountains of
information!!  A few such forms of value are:1) various personal
meanings (reminders of trips, the kindness of friends (or strangers!),
memories of former places of residence, cherished childhood  experinces,
etc.), 2) taxonomic work- an extremely valuable scientific persuit which
often requires only minimal data,  3) public education and awareness,
via displays,exhibits and books, 4) all the splendid functions a good
hobby fulfiills in a person's life, and of course 5) purely "aesthetic"
value-- beauty for its own sake, and especially the sort of beauty found
only in nature (i've been known to take the occasional potshot at those
who admire and collect for mainly or strictly aesthetic considerations-
I take most of these back! (except for those involving people who have
to have *every* specimen 99%+ perfect:  Any well-built machine can turn
out perfection all day long, but in the Real World, life goes on and
things happen.  The
"imperfections"  on a shell tell the life story of its former owner, and
so long as they don't disfigure or obscure its natural beauty, just add
to  the "character" of the specimen, and increase its intrinsic
interest.  Of course, visually perfect shells DO occasionally occur, and
should be cherished for their rarity, but an entire collection of such
oddities would be a bit "bland", IMHO!))So, do not despair if some of
your shells have less-than-complete pedigrees, or are not "absolutely
stunning" in every aspect:  each one of them can have some sort of value
in the right context(s),and who has the right to say which  type  is
more valid, useful, or "correct" (politically or otherwise)??
 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                        -Ross Mayhew.