If you say a shell is "museum quality," what are you saying about the
shell?  I  had always assumed that it meant the shell was in excellent, or
gem, condition.  Yesterday I found a site on eBay of an Australian woman
who is selling her collection one at a time.  The shells are very nice
looking, but on one of them she has added a "rant of the day." This
particular one concerns the definition of "museum quality."  I won't
reproduce in its entirety what she says, but the concluding sentence is  
 
"So, if I see someone advertise a shell  as “museum quality”, all I expect
of that shell is that it has a proper label. It doesn’t mean anything at
all about the quality of the shell!"
 
If you'd like to see all her explanation, the URL is 
 
http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=74099665
 
Now, would y'all please tell me what it really means if someone says a
shell is "museum quality."
 
Thank you.
 
Joan
Huntsville, Alabama
 
P.S.  Also, at the following URL (or look up item 74581410) is the 1969
issue of National Geographic with the shell article.
 
http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?MfcISAPICommand=ViewItem&item=74581
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