Hello everyone. I'm totally new to antique paper currency because I just recently fell into it by accident.
My parents inherited a very old, heavy wooden desk from a relative a while back, and they discovered a wad of older foreign currency in it. After having done some basic research into the collection's potential value, I'm pretty sure someone was collecting these pieces and didn't acquire them in their travels. Most of the bills do not appear to have a substantial value, but it appears that some of them may be worth grading at some point, but I'm having trouble deciding.
There are Chinese Fens from 1938-1940 when China was occupied by Japan. (7) 1 Fen, (3) 10 Fen, and (3) 20 Fen bills. These are in excellent condition, possibly as high as a 60 in grade, but appear to be worth very little.
There is a 1911 (Series DZ) Banco de Sonora 5 Pesos note that is in fairly good condition, though with four folds.
A Siberian/Russian 50 Kopeks note that is also in very good condition with only one fold.
A 1940 Banque de L'algerie 50 Francs note with only one fold. Still fairly crisp.
A 1938-9 Federal Reserve Bank of China 1 Yuan note that is in fine condition, only one fold.
And then there is some potentially more valuable currency that I think might be worth having PMG assess:
A 1938 Federal Reserve Bank of China 1 Dollar note that is in fine condition with only one fold but has slightly ragged edges. At a grade 20, it would be worth about $175. So it might be worth the expense to get it assessed but only if it is genuinely close to that grade.
A 1938 Federal Reserve Bank of China 10 Dollar note in similar condition to the 1 Dollar note. At a grade 20, it would be worth about $600.
And a 1938-1940 Orange signature Sheehan/MacFarlane Commonwealth of Australia 10 Shillings note that would be worth about $350 at a grade 20, though it could be worth as much as $3500 if it closed in upon a grade 60. It has only one fold and has a bit of crispness, but it seems a bit worn and wrinkly to me. Still has good clarity though.
I'm so new at this I don't know if my meager assessment skills are totally off, or if these bills are in better condition or worse condition than I imagine. If the bills were worse than grade 20, I don't think it would be worth the expense getting them graded. If they're considered better than a 20, then it would seem definitely worth it. Is there any way to tell from the attached photos if they're definitely worth getting graded? The bills were scanned in at high resolution on a flat bed scanner.
Thank you for your help.
Michael