Dear Steve;- I do work as a volunteer at the Cin. Museum of Nat. Hist. (collections dept.). Your implication is correct: that is that collections donated to museums are a bit like bodies covered with six feet of earth. They are there to stay. We are currently trying to integrate collections from the University of Cincinnati into our (what?) collection. Most of it consists of shells picked up by vacationing staff members on their summer holiday. The donation got them something of a tax deduction. Completing my task will take till about the time the sun becomes a Red Giant and all the atmosphere is blown off the Earth. I'll be deep in the bowells of some underground museum cataloging shells picked up along the Ohio River banks. If you got really good stuff, keep at least part of it in circulation. Art