Danny,

You have missed the pin of the long defunct (1989?) Louisville
Conchological Society. I have only our two and they're not for
sale...it's a very small pin, 22 x 16 mm and rather shield-shaped in
blue on gold. It bears a gold LCS and Louisville's symbol, the Fleur de
lis, along with a little club shell, the very rare Crenavolva dondani.
It was designed by an artist-member of LCS, Taylor Duncan, and produced
in 1977.  I'll scan a pin and send the scan to you privately (and to
anyone else who is interested) along with the address of a man named
Louis Brown who might (note that is MIGHT) still have some pins for sale
or trade.

For some reason the shell, shown in an apertural view, is depicted spire
down.  There's a little story in this. Many of you knew Walter Sage who
died of cancer in July 1995. He was Collections Manager of the
Malacology Section and Senior Research Assistant at the American Museum
of Natural History under Bill Emerson. (He followed Bill Old in this
job.) He was also longtime Treasurer of COA, and was often referred to
as Mr. COA. Walter was also president of the Louisville Conchological
Society for many years before going to New York. It was he who initiated
the LCS club pin project and saw production of the pin through to
completion.

Now to the LCS club shell, Crenatavolva (Serratovolva) dondani (Cate,
1964). Crawford Cate, describing it in the Veliger 7(2): 102, named the
shell Primovula (Diminovula) dondani for the longtime shell dealer Don
H.Y. Dan. Don, in the shell business in Manila at the time, found it
1962 in a batch of uncleaned shells received from fishermen and
trawlers, recognized it as "a strange fellow," and drew it to Cate's
attention. Cate described it from that single specimen and for many
years there was unique. The shell is from Carigara Bay, Samar Island,
and is deposited at Stanford University, although it bears the National
Museum of the Philippines type species number 07287. It is a beautiful
little thing, just 23mm long, pink and bulbous. Its entire apertural lip
is crisply toothed and the external end of each tooth is very sharply
pointed, giving the entire side of the shell a sharply serrated look.
See numerous beautiful photos of it at Guido's Animals4Ever site:

<http://www.animals4ever.com>

LCS chose this shell as its emblem because Don Dan was at that time
living in Louisville, and was a valued member of LCS. The only hang-up
to producing our pin (once the membership okayed it) was that we wanted
the club shell on the pin and we did not have a specimen of C. dondani
to take a picture from. Now I may not have this right because I was not
even in the club at the time, but I'll do my best. Don already had or
obtained a photo of the holotype, and from that photo Walter had an oil
painting done by Kim Burch. That painting was sent direct to the
pinmaking folk. But for some reason, the artist inverted the shell so
that the thing appeared spire down. (She also dulled the ends of the
serrations for some reason.) Walter, knowing little about the shell,
believed that the shell was depicted inverted or "flopped" so that it
appeared to be a sinsitral specimen. (It is not. It is just upside
down.) Of course the pinmakers didn't know up from down on seashells,
and so they depicted it as painted, and "our" shell is upside down on
the pin.

Kim Burch's oil painting of the shell hangs in my house, a gift from
Walter's mother after her death, and one of my most loved possessions, a
daily reminder of Walter and LCS. The photo from which I believe it was
drawn is shown in Crawford Cate's 1973 supplement to the Veliger Vol.
15. It may be the photo Cate used in the original description as well,
but I don't have a copy of that.

More about C. dondani...for many years it was unique. There was another
specimen but I will have to confirm the story with Don before I tell. I
will get back to you about it. However, in 1968, a number of specimens
were brought up from the Mactan-based fishermen in the Philippines, and
the price on this once legendary shell has come way down. Most specimens
are smaller, but even more brilliantly colored. If you aren't familiar
with the shell, do go have a look at some gorgeous specimens on
Animals4Ever!

Lynn Scheu
Louisville, KY