Why I am selling this: This is a castoff from my mother's shell collection, a vast holding amassed over forty-odd years of active patronage of the country's best shell shops.  While my mother still lives and retains the bulk of her collection, she has given this particular specimen to me for the purpose of selling it on eBay.  She is very generous!

What I am selling: This is a shell potentially dating from the 1970s through to the early 2000s, when my mother wound up her shell collection and turned to dollhouse miniatures.  This is a red abalone (Haliotis rufescens).  This is a beach find and is from the Pacific Northwest, one of literally hundreds that she has found over the years.  (She always observed posted laws regarding abalone collection and never collected any live animals, of course.)  Alternatively, although the age and species are not affected by this, it could have come from the Mall of St. Paul, a very mixed-quality antique store in St. Paul, Minnesota where I purchased some half-dozen of the large red abalones I am listing a few years ago for $10 apiece, if memory serves.  All of these abalones (minus the antique store finds) were on display in our California home for many years; I later displayed them (with permission) in a different context, as border edging in outdoor gardens in Northfield, Minnesota and later in Richfield, Minnesota before deciding to retire them from active service and offer them on here before they were completely ruined by inclement weather.

Many abalone species, including red abalones, have since gone into severe decline due to overfishing and withering disease, and specimens of this size are no longer abundant as they formerly were.

Condition: This beach find shell is in POOR TO VERY POOR condition.  Some or all of the following characteristics may apply: weathering, staining, cracks/fissures/growth lines, barnacle encrustation, spire wear, rough or chipped edges, small pitted drill holes (from boring sponges), large neat drill holes (from boring clams), advanced weather erosion (from wind/rain/snow), and/or dirt encrustation (from sitting outside in garden mulch/soil).  Please see pictures for individual details.

My current competition: Red abalones are numerous on eBay, but the larger ones, even in poor shape, get pricy quickly.  The cheapest one currently available as a Buy-It-Now of comparable size is offered for $6.00 with $12.65 shipping.

 

Specifications: 8 3/8" x 6 3/4" x 2", 612.6g (HEAVY!!!)

Shipping policy: Unless specified in the listing, items are shipped with tracking through USPS at size/weight-based standard shipping rates.  Shipping has gotten more expensive since I last sold on here, and eBay does deduct a fee from shipping costs as well as from list price, so while I know no one enjoys paying an arm and a leg for shipping, as a seller I have to at least try to break even!

I do combine shipping on items by taking the *most expensive* shipping level and adding $1 for EACH additional combined item.  (Ex. three items at $5, $6, and $8 shipping becomes $8 +$1 +$1 = $10 combined shipping instead of $19 individually shipped; four items at $5, $10, $15, and $20 shipping becomes $20 +$1 +$1 +$1 = $23 combined shipping instead of $50 individually shipped, etc.)

Other notes: Please note that I work full-time and typically check eBay once daily in the late evening.  I will make every effort to communicate clearly and promptly with prospective and confirmed buyers, and to ship items swiftly and carefully.  As is true for every seller, positive feedback is extremely important to me, and I would appreciate hearing from you before leaving any neutral/negative feedback so that I have an opportunity to resolve any issues that might have arisen.  I provide positive feedback for every buyer as soon as they have left me positive feedback for their order.  

All items come from a smoke-free home.