122 PRICES PAID FOR SHELLS chap, iv 



extravagant jjiices, six specimens averaging over X20 apiece. 

 Conns cedo nuUi went for X18 and X22, C. omaicus for £12, 

 C. malaccaniis for 10 guineas (this and one of the cedo nulli 

 being the actual specimens figured in Reeve's Concliologia 

 Iconica)^ C. cervus for X19 and C. gloria maris for .£42. On 

 9th May 1866 a Cypraea Broderipii was sold at Stevens' auction- 

 rooms for c£13, and at the Dennison sale a Cypraea princeps 

 fetched £40, and C. guttata £42. The Volutidae, although not 

 quite touching these prices, have yet done fairly well. Mr. 

 Dennison's Voluta fusiformis sold for £6: 15s., V. jyapillaris for 

 £5, V. cymhiola for £5 : 15s., V. reticulata for eight guineas, 

 and two specimens of the rarest of all Volutas, V. festiva, for 

 £14 and £16, both being figured in the Conchologia. At the 

 same sale, two unique specimens of Oniscia Beniiisoni fetched 

 £17 and £18 respectively, and, at the Vernede sale, Ancillaria 

 Vernedei was bought for £6 : 10s., and Voluta piperata for 

 £7 :10s. 



A unique sj)ecimen of a recent Pleurotomaria (^quoyana 

 F. and B.) was purchased by Miss de Burgh in 1873 for 25 

 guineas, and another species of the same genus Qadaiisoniana 

 Cr. and F.), of extraordinary size and beauty, is now offered for 

 sale for about £100. 



Bivalves have never fetched quite such high prices as uni- 

 valves, but some of the favourite and showy genera have gone 

 near to rival them. On 22nd June 1869, at Stevens', Peeten 

 Solaris fetched £4 :5s., P. Reevii £4 :8s., and Cardita varia 

 5 guineas. Mr. Dennison's specimens of Peeten suhnodosus sold 

 for £7, of Corhula Soiverhyi for £10, of PJioladomya Candida 

 for £8 and £13, while at the Vernede sale a Chama damicornis 

 fetched £7. 



