There are bargins and then there are bargains. I was on E*** and came across a seller in the shell section that had a headline "After 30 years I'm selling off my collection" with no particular identification of the shell that he was selling. I took a peak and saw it was a decent, but obviously dead Cypraea valentia. He had a brief description of the shell as a "very rare lucrudon" which is clearly misidentified through the photograph. I said, what the heck, I'll put a $10 bid on it and was very surprised that I actually won the shell. The shell arrived and it was in the shape that he had stated. I am frankly suspicious. Someone who has been collecting shells for 30 years and misidentifies such a classic rareity as Cypraea valentia as "lucrudon" (which I assume means Cypraea leucodon) seems pretty odd to me. I'm just a tad worried that this could be a stolen shell. I realize a nice, but dead Prince Cowry is not a $450 shell and maybe I should just count my blessings, but I thought I should check with Y'all if anyone here has heard about any such shell that has been stolen. Thanks. Doug ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs To leave this list, click on the following web link: http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1 Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and click leave the list. ----------------------------------------------------------------------