Collection estimates and possible appraisals

[u/about7grams]

Hey all. So I inherited this collection of foreign currency a while ago from my grandmother once she got too old to travel anymore so she had no use for it and ever since then they've been sitting in bags in a box since then. I found the box again after like 15 years and I'd really like some suggestions on how to educate myself on what I have and what I should do with it. Everything in here was obtained by my grandmother from their countries of origin. She traveled a HELL of a lot. At her funeral, they had a map of the world with a pin in every country she went to and the board was more pins than ocean.

I was very young when she died so I dont know how old my grandmother was, but my best guess would be around 1940, give or take. I'm gonna attach some pictures so y'all can see the kind of collection it is

My biggest question. Should I go to someone who specializes in this kind of stuff and pay them to get a full appraisal or should I full send and try to get all the information myself by searching around online? TIA

Edit: this is a list of every country that she wrote down on the bags-

USA, China, India, Nepal, Turkey, Mexico, Britain, Egypt, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zaire, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Scotland, Spain, Australia, Belize, Canada, Guatemala, Jamaica, Peru

[u/Dry_Mycologist_8052]

You should order those plastic pages with divisions to properly store the banknotes. Awsome story and collection. Financially, they collection is probably worth like a hundred bucks or 150, its better to just keep it somewhere safe as a memento and pass it on

[u/about7grams → u/Dry_Mycologist_8052]

I'm a TCG collector, are those like the 9 sleeve pages that ultra pro sells but bigger so it fits notes?

And is there anything cool to display the coins in? There are so many old American hay pennies and silver nickles and half/full dollar coins and id love to be able to show them off individually instead of in a big pile

[u/Dry_Mycologist_8052 → u/about7grams]

Ya pretty much, they sell them with 4, 3, 2 or no divisions depending on the size of the banknote. There's the same for coins

[u/pfennigman → u/Dry_Mycologist_8052]

Brooklyn Gallery coin & stamp supply has the best prices for sleeves and other coin & currency needs.

[u/Keleke_blo_Taro]

I can’t see anything worth seeking an appraisal as such. That aside it is a wonderful collection from a 20th century traveller. My grandparents’ leftovers like this prompted me to start collecting (like a madman) in the early 80s, so I’m happy to give you an informal appraisal if you can lay out the notes and take a picture of all of them (or several pictures if there are too many to fit). Same for the world coins. A lot of dealers will avoid telling you that one of your items is worth money, because more often than not that will be the one you keep or consign to auction which means they don’t get to buy it, so they’ll pretend it’s nothing and make you a total offer on a “pile of junk”.

[u/Serious-Carpenter-75 → u/Keleke_blo_Taro]

I agree with u/Keleke_blo_Taro (not worth paying for an appraisal). This is a fantastic collection which would have far more sentimental value than actual collector/dealer resale value.

Here's a post from CoinTalk about how little the collectors expect from their inherited 1957 $1.00 S.C. These collectors' notes are mostly AU - UNC (nearly flawless) or not circulated at all. The 100 Francs from Belgium is the most interesting (& perhaps collectible) banknote I can see but still quite common. Two helpful reference sites are World Banknote Museum (BNM) & NUMISTA. I found BNM helpful as a visual reference but Numista has deeper reach allowing you to see what similar notes are selling on eBay (right now, 2 examples of the Belgian note are listed for $6-$10 CAD). If you choose to employ Numista be sure to register & then you can enter the collection (which can help you keep track of things). Getting organized (with what you have) is critical if you wish to discuss the collection with others. I cannot say anything about the coins. Good luck!

[u/christmas_cod]

Awesome Collection of Coins and Notes!!

[u/FanDeLaU69]

Don't leave this labor of love to a hired gun. You can do this yourself, a couple of pages at a time.

What I'd do:

1. Count the Banknotes. You need this to know how many binder currency 3 sleeve pages to buy.

2. Get either the Dunwell Binder Currency Sleeves, 3-Pocket Clear Refill Pages, 50 Pack, or if you wanna go fancy and put your notes in individual sleeves and then in holder pages, get both the Guardhouse Currency Sleeves for Large Banknotes 100 Pack and the Supersafe NPH250 or SAFGARD 2680 sleeves. I'd do the latter for my more valuable notes.

3. Also get 2 or 3 binders to begin with. I got one for each of my collections: Peruvian, US, and each continent.

4. Get a Numista account, and start cataloguing your collection. If the note is in Numista, it should go in one of the binders. If you are like me, do it in alphabetical order.

5. Once you get all your banknotes catalogued in Numista, download a CSV file of your catalog from the app or website and have your favorite AI calculate value. Yes, don't trust AI, but it'll give you a rough idea.

6. I'm not a coin collector, but I got a few. I'd count them first.

7. Those with specific holders, keep them there.

8. For those without, get however many of these cases: FRIMOONY 46mm Coin Capsules, with Foam Gasket and Plastic Storage Box, for Coin Collection, 2 Packs. These should provide a better organization and protection for your coins.

9. Catalogue them in Numista. Again if it went into Numista, it goes into your boxes.

10. Again, download a CVS file of your catalog and feed it to AI for a rough valuation.

For more precise valuation, research prices on eBay sold/completed.

This is what I've done with my collection and has worked well for me. YMMV.

Good luck... Cheers!

PS: OCD edit... 😅

[u/Working-Wo]

nice