As a shell dealer, I have had the opportunity to interact with hundreds of
collectors over the years, including a large number of relatively new
collectors.  Beginners are most often generalists, and there are certain
species which such collectors typically consider "must have shells"  early
on.  These include such old favorites as:

Epitonium scalare
Murex pecten
Murex palmarosae
Biplex perca
Cypraea mappa
Conus textile
Conus geographus
Thatcheria mirabilis
Harpa major
Oliva miniacea
Oliva porphyria
Ovula ovum
Strombus listeri
Tibia fusus
Turbo petholatus
Guildfordia yoka
Turritella terebra
Mitra mitra
Chama lazarus
Cyrtopleura costata
Corculum cardissa
Lyropecten nodosus
Chlamys senatorius

Regards, Paul M.

> ----------
> From:         William Corey
> Reply To:     Conchologists of America List
> Sent:         08, July 2002 10:47 PM
> To:   [log in to unmask]
> Subject:      Must Have Shells
>
> Greetings to All,
>         Recently, coffee cup in hand, I was admiring some of my shells.
> As I
> was gazing rather fondly at them I wondered "What compels people to
> collect
> particular shells?"  I thought I would like to convene a virtual summit
> and
> ask the question this way:
>
>            As you have been building your collections have you ever
> thought:....What would be your "Canon" or closed list of must have
> specimens.
>  For example, as a collector of Cones (or cowries or whatever), what must
> you
> have to feel you have a "good" or "complete" collection.  Of course it is
> a
> matter of personal taste, but I am curious if there is a consensus among
> the
> collectors in this readership:
>
>       Of the kinds of specimens you collect, what must you have? Or, to
> put
> it another way: Which specimens do you feel should be in every "good"
> collection?
>
>                                    Thanks, in advance, for your opinions
>
>