Hello,
 
on the nobilis affair: no shell is rare in nature. But sometimes hard to
get in the drawers.
friedae and renatae are hard to get, less than a dozen are around I guess.
They match between one and three thousand dollars on shell shows, and I've
seen less than five. This is a lot of money for a cone that does not give
the impression to live particularly deep.
 
The typical nobilis from the Philippines: they are all found in a spot in
southern Palawan. This place is hard to reach, but when you are there
(source information), you can collect a dozen every evening after 7 p.m. in
50 cm of water. Because of the low price on the international markt, nobody
goes there now.
 
The victor and skinneri forms are indeed overpriced at present. Only the 60
mm up plus in gem are rare, theyfind less than 10 pieces a year.
 
Best regards, Guido