Estate Find from Arkansas

[SellSeaShell]

Here are some shells that I acquired from an estate in Arkansas.  I wouldn't mind knowing more about them for the purpose of selling them or trading them (I will be selling rocks and minerals in a couple of weeks and may run into people selling shells) at a reasonable value.  So I probably should figure out some of the names them.  There are a lot in the pictures so I don't mind if I don't know everything about each one. 

[img width=640 height=480]https://public.bay.livefilestore.com/y1pujz_ITOt5nOQuZndBlrtTA2f_sij8UL-wp3URWTSenGQVYg-dsJdcv8moIOa5mDL-eUrK09s9YP9FK9SXABerg/P1040825.JPG?psid=1[/img]

[img width=640 height=480]https://public.bay.livefilestore.com/y1pkBkLYp657NlEoxaRivU-u3SR1MZG00uYzCHKrcZbasR143VpJ-vH0SpA4vSWMn1s7GIyYYnKfSkFrdrLI3l6Xw/P1040826.JPG?psid=1[/img]

[img width=640 height=480]https://public.bay.livefilestore.com/y1pbZOK8IrhznZ8c4GPKwlOM34rqVEi2xXzh8aupJapEsvz_emFh7JRio09fUd3mC2fhWQ3vMFf_Gafmunopz33mg/P1040827.JPG?psid=1[/img]

[img width=640 height=480]https://public.bay.livefilestore.com/y1pkBkLYp657Nk0wcSmGbq5MW9mcvxeVCXE2VJhC3OIn2-8fWHevU3ZSQm8gI3kFuJYLXaQMt8o0tEKlxcfutVl7Q/P1040828.JPG?psid=1[/img]

[img width=640 height=480]https://public.bay.livefilestore.com/y1pw5idrcv8IzPYjliDyY2tb5k1jlXjzbXSgQrf2qL3h4AUCTDqLgKHgjM_1pjO-4NHGU59SlUeXGhyL4zYY0uXzQ/P1040829.JPG?psid=1[/img]

[img width=640 height=480]https://public.bay.livefilestore.com/y1ptRVJBajmheQg5svQgd6RXP_afVUdEbPkrWbvTN0tqzXreszeBrPgCpwm4ohLHavW_dwbh2cJuT7IvMtI2AWKZA/P1040830.JPG?psid=1[/img]

[SellSeaShell]

Looking around it seemed like a lot of the polished looking ones were some type of cowry or cyprae family shell.  Is that right? 

[paul monfils]

Hi.  I have looked them over and here are some I see:

Cypraea tigris
Cypraea argus
Conus striatus
Casmaria erinacea
Cypraea mauritiana
Cypraea isabella
Turbo petholatus
Terebra maculata
Distorsio anus
Turbo argyrostomus
Pecten pallium
Harpa major
Strombus lentiginosus
Tridacna crocea
Cypraea vitellus
Haliotis ovina
Oliva miniacea
Vasum turbinellum
Trochus niloticus
Conus bullatus
Cypraea testudinaria
Cypraea arabica
Cypraea caputserpentis
Cypraea lynx
Cypraea talpa
Cypraea carneola
Cypraea erosa
Cypraea mappa
Cypraea scurra

That's most of them.  There are a few small ones I can't ID for sure because of the angle of view.
Conus bullatus is moderately uncommon.  All the others are very common shells, not worth more than a few dollars each, in some cases less.

[SellSeaShell]

Wow! Thank you for looking all of them over Mr. Monfils.  I'll be looking them all up. 

I have a follow up question for you or whoever can answer it.  I was assuming that the shiny shells had been polished, but is it natural?

[helmetapointe]

                            1 more


[img width=640 height=480]http://nsa21.casimages.com/img/2012/04/08/120408124756919266.jpg[/img]

[paul monfils]

The high gloss on Cypraea and Oliva shells is natural, as is the lesser gloss on some other types of shells.  None of yours appear to be polished.

[SellSeaShell]

That is surprising...especially for someone like me who collects rocks and mineral in their natural, unaltered form...just makes these better than the tumbled stones that kids like to buy.  The natural beauty that exists on this planet really has to be appreciated.