was held by the Smithsonian Institution, which has c. 1 million lots representing perhaps 50,000 species. The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture also has a large collection which was donated by Dr. Phil Nudelman in 2013. It includes about 100,000 specimens and 24,000 species, mostly from the Indo-Pacific region, the Caribbean, and the Mediterranean. US Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia American Museum of Natural History, New York City Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum in Sanibel Island, Florida: the only museum in the world dedicated entirely to shells. Charleston Marine Life Center, Oregon Institute of Marine Biology in Charleston Oregon Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, Colorado: approximately 17,500 shell lots. Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard, Massachusetts National Museum of Natural History, Washington D.C. – The Smithsonian has c. 1 million lots, the largest worldwide Europe Austria, Vienna – Naturhistorisches Museum Belgium, Brussels – Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, one of the three largest collections France, Paris – Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle 900,000 lots, 5 million specimens Germany Frankfurt – Naturmuseum Senckenberg, 700,000 lots (33,000 living taxa, 12,000 fossil taxa) Berlin – Berlin's Natural History Museum Netherlands, Leiden – Natural History Museum, Leiden Sweden, Stockholm – Swedish Museum of Natural History United Kingdom London – Natural History Museum 8 million specimens, 60,000 type specimens Cardiff – National Museum Cardiff, second largest UK collection, over 2 million specimens Manchester – Manchester Museum, fourth largest UK collection; 166,000 lots. Cambridge – Cambridge University Museum of Zoology, over 100,000 lots Organizations Like other scientific fields, conchologists have a number of local, national, and international organizations. There are also many organizations specializing in specific subareas. Association Française de Conchyliologie Belgian Society for Conchology Club Conchylia, the German/Austrian Society for Shell Collecting Conchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland Conchologists of America Conquiliologistas do Brasil Nederlandse Malacologische Vereniging Unitas Malacologica Depictions of shells on stamps and coins Shells have been featured on over 5,000 postage stamps worldwide, and have been featured on many coins including the Bahamian dollar (1974), the Cuban peso (1981), the Haitian gourde (1973), the Nepalese rupee (1989) and Philippine peso (1993). See also :Category:Conchologists References Sources National Geographic Magazine, March 1969, "The Magic Lure of Sea Shells", Paul A. Zahl Seashells of the Northern Hemisphere, 1990, Surrey, R. Tucker Abbott External links The Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum in Sanibel Island A site for amateurs Conchological organizations Association Française de Conchyliologie