>First I would like to say that the data is as important as the
>shell.  With data the shell can become
>part of the mass of meta data gathered about environments,
>environmental changes, species
>composition, the range of physical characteristics for a species....
>The list goes on, and is not
>limited to what we currently record or think is important to record.
>Just like a book in the library,
>someone else later on can look at the shell and data and use it it
>ways we never dreamed of.  So
>whatever you do - do collect and keep location data for your shells.
>Without data the shells are
>still beautiful to look at, and may be artistically inspiring, but
>that is about the limit of their
>usefulness.  Don't get me wrong my house is littered with data-less
>shells and I do love them all.

Yes, correct data is of prime importance, and of course the more
detailed it is, the better.

>We need to remember dealers are also human and can make mistakes
>too, or be re-selling shells
>someone else mis-labled.

Problems can also occur when old collections are bought and
split-up... labels can become mixed between different specimens of a
given species, say. If the seller is sufficiently ignorant (eg a
rockhound who owned a Christchurch shop which would buy shell
collections & mix labels up), then such mixups are inevitable and
unfortunate. But a "professional" shell dealer should have enough
knowledge to know when data on a received specimen is nonsense.

>Though I don't often purchase shells, the dealers I have purchased
>shells from have been very knowledgable and helpful.

I have "met" some very knowledgable dealers, and also some
unforgivably ignorant ones, some of the latter having been in the
business for decades and not learned a thing.

>If you have a problem with a purchase, you
>should contact the dealer and work out the problem together (and NOT
>on this list).

The mislocalized Turbo was not a purchase. The dealer's responses to
my posting were most interesting, and did not impress me at all
positively. But I don't want to comment beyond that, or get into
further argument with the dealer. Note that I did not, nor do I now,
name the dealer, or give any hints as to the identity or location
thereof.

>I once had someone donate a wonderful small but very good collection
>of shells their
>grandparents had collected while living overseas to the musuem.  The
>only problem was all the
>little slips of paper with data had fallen out of the shells when
>they were packing them up and they
>had thrown them all away!  It was so sad.  The shells became part of
>the educaton/exhibit
>collection instead of the research collection.

A few small ziploc bags can go a long way to save this sort of thing
from happening.
--
Andrew Grebneff
Dunedin
New Zealand
Fossil preparator
Seashell, Macintosh, VW/Toyota van nut
‚ Opinions stated are mine, not of the University of Otago
"There is water at the bottom of the ocean"  - Talking Heads

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