Cold carbon cluster negative ions are formed by supersonic expansion of a plasma created at the nozzle of a supersonic cluster beam source by an excimer laser pulse. The observed distribution of mass peaks for the C-n(-) ions for n > 40 demonstrates that the evidence previously given for the special stability of neutral C-60 and the existence of spheroidal carbon shells cannot be an artifact of the ionization conditions. (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V.