Thanks for your interesting E-mail, Chris.  I've seen some of these
"sinistral" fakes myself, and they are indeed works of art.  They can
usually be spotted by examining the canal, especially in a fake Conus.

The other way to tell the fakes is from the price - if it's too good to
be true, it most likely is...  Someone in the Philippines once tried to
sell me a "sinistral" Pterynotus loebbeckei, and a little playful
haggling soon brought the price down below a regular (dextral) specimen!
(It was a beautiful "craft item", incidently...)



-----Original Message-----
From: Conchologists of America List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Chris Takahashi
Sent: 08 April 2003 23:57
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: FAKED SINISTRAL SHELLS(HARRY LEE BEWARE!)

ALOHA!
I JUST RETURNED FROM 6 WEEKS IN ASIA. FOR THE 1ST TIME CHARGES WERE
FILED
AGAINST 2 CEBU SHELL DEALERS BY A FRENCH SHELL DEALER. HE BOUGHT A FAKED
SINISTRAL CONUS VIRGO FOR 16,000P(ROUGHLY US$300). THIS WAS DONE BY
CANNIBALISING 3 NORMAL SHELLS CUT IN THIRDS. THE END PRODUCT IS
EXTREMELY
DIFFICULT TO PERCEIVE AS A FAKE.

IN THE PAST SINISTRAL CONUS AULICUS & GLORIAMARIS HAVE APPEARED BUT WERE
EASILY SPOTTED AS FAKES. EXPERTLY DOCTORED SINISTRAL CYMATIUM PILEARE
ALSO
HAVE APPEARED THIS TRIP ENGINEERED BY THE SAME 2 DEALERS. LOCAL
AUTHORITIES
HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO FIND THESE DEALERS BECAUSE A PROMINANT CEBU DEALER
IS
HIDING THEM SINCE HE PROFITS DIRECTLY OFF THEIR WORK. ONE OF THEM HAS
APPEARED TO ME TO SELL HIS MATERIAL BUT I REFUSED. HE WAS ABLE TO ESCAPE
BEFORE SECURITY WAS SUMMONED.

BE AWARE OF ANY SINISTRAL SHELLS OFFERED. THEY ARE A WORK OF ART BUT
SHOULD
BE TREATED AS A CRAFT ITEM, NOT A RARE SPECIMEN.   MAHALO! CHRIS:)  c",)