No, the most expensive is not the rarest, but the most desirable. Prices of
shells are determined by supply and demand, just like prices of anything
else. Rarity only addresses the first criterion - supply.  In order for a
shell to be expensive it must be not only in low supply, but also have
characteristics which create high demand - physical beauty, assignment to a
popular family, and in most cases reasonably good size (not a microshell -
though a microCypraea, if it existed, would certainly be in demand).  There
are plenty of unimpressive little shells that are known from only a few
specimens, or in some cases only a single specimen, and are therefore
"rarer" than any Cypraea.  They might be of great scientific value to a
specialist in that particular family, but they have no commercial value
because no-one else would be interested in them.

Paul M.

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