07:50 PM EDT on Monday, April 3, 2006

By JANELLA MARTINEZ / 6NEWS
E-mail Janelle: JMartinez@WCNC.com

6NEWS

Do you see Mary holding the baby Jesus?

MOORESVILLE -- A Mooresville woman hopes to have the next hot item on eBay. She said a shell she found bears a strong likeness to the Virgin Mary and the baby Jesus. She is asking $25,000 for the Holy piece of the sea. 6NEWS talked with the woman about why she thinks it's worth every penny.

People will have to judge for themselves on whether or not the think a seashell looks like Mary holding Jesus and even if they can see it, is it worth $25,000?

Probably not to some, but someone has already offered to $20,000 for it and there are six days left in the bidding.

"I just glanced down and saw a shell that was unique, picked it up and saw the image,” shell owner Kathy Snow said.      

Snow found the shell last year during a trip to Wrightsville Beach.

“I showed it to my son and he saw the same thing, Mary holding Jesus," Snow said.

To some it's just another seashell, but to Snow it's something more.

“Maybe it’s a financial gift. I don't know,” Snow said.    

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To find out, she put it on eBay. Her boyfriend Chris Mohn helped her come up with the price.

"We figure anyone who has the resources for something like that, $25,000 is a drop in the bucket,” Mohn said.

Some might think Snow and her boyfriend are crazy, but a pretzel some said looks like Mary holding Jesus sold on ebay for $10,000.

A grilled cheese sandwich a woman claimed bears the likeness of the Virgin Mary sold for $28,000.

Snow said compared to those items, her shell is a steal.

“This is something nature created and that's what makes it so unique," Snow said.  

6NEWS checked the bids and 76 people have it on their watch list and it's received more than 1,000 clicks.

Snow has received some negative comments from people who said it's not right to make money off of Jesus' name, but Snow believes this may all be God's way of giving her some much needed cash.