Inherited coin collection

[Bronzed Jbone]

I got a collection of roughly 600 coins.  Roughly 1/3 are U.S. of A., large concentrations of Mexican, Canadian, Great Britain, Australian, and Philippines.  Lots of other nationalities too, in addition there are some tokens/medals.  1936 Bronze Olympic, One loaf of bread, German play money token, James Garfield assassination coin, etc.

I've started cataloging them, but have some questions.

The online sites seem to have disparate pricing.  Is there a standard or preferred pricing reference, or should I just check ebay?
I'm curious about grading, is there a reference online or in print?  Do I need to buy a microscope/loop/magnifying glass?

Some of the coins are from the 1800s and one is from 1797 (1 Heller).  Are those more in demand due to the age, or is demand based on silver content, or is it just a "collect what you focus on" approach?

Almost all are stored in the cardboard with plastic window holder, is that okay, or do I need to get something better?

There are grades written on some of the cardboards, have grading standards changed much or are they just more exacting?  I'm guessing it depends on the dealer that graded them, but just wanted to confirm the approach. 

If I'm insuring them, is there any difference on pricing/grading?

Anything else I'm unaware of?
Thanks in advance!

[Conder101]

First, don't try and clean your coins.

Second, the cardboard holders (they are called 2X2's) are probably fine for your storage right now.  If you determine there is something rare with a lot of value to it then you can revisit that later.

Third, at first I would concentrate on cataloging and identifying what you have.  Then you can worry about grading and pricing.  As far as grading that is a skill that takes some time and study to learn.  There are books that can help teach it to you but that will just give you the basics, like any skill it takes practice to become proficient and a lot of practice to really become good at it.  (If you have a local library you can probably borrow the books there.)  The books are all pretty much geared toward US coins, but the principles can then be applied to other coin.

Fourth, price guides both printed and online are just that, GUIDES.  And often you have no way to really know how outdated the pricing information is, so even on the most recent guides the prices should just be considered a "ballpark" figure.  Often recent prices on ebay for more common items are the most accurate.  (For SOLD items not just the auctions or completed auctions.  People can ask whatever they want, and an auction that ends without a sale is meaningless.  You want to look at the listings that actually sold.)

As far as insurance goes, unless the coins are really valuable (High figures or more.) it probably isn't worthwhile to pursue.  If you insist on insuring then, you will want to join the ANA and then look at insuring the coins through Hugh Wood ins.  They do provide ANA members with excellent rates, they understand collectible coins and have easy to follow guidelines.  Insurance through a private insurer or your home owners insurance (Which will require a special rider on the policy.  Typically without the special rider they won't cover more than $200 worth.) will be MUCH more expensive and they will have all kinds of hoops to jump through and special requirements that have to be met.

22 hours ago, Bronzed Jbone said:

Some of the coins are from the 1800s and one is from 1797 (1 Heller).  Are those more in demand due to the age, or is demand based on silver content, or is it just a "collect what you focus on" approach?

It is probably more of a "what you collect" focus.  Age or silver content is not what makes a coin valuable.  It is the condition of the coin and the number of collectors that desire it for their collection.  IF a lot of collectors want the coin and there aren't enough of them to go around the the price goes up  Supply and demand.  If you have a LOT of demand and just a small supply prices can be high and the coin can be valuable in even poor condition.  If the supply is higher then the lower condition coins may not have much value but the really top grade pieces may.  If you have a very large supply then prices are low pretty much no matter what.

Rarity, or a very low supply does NOT always mean a high price.  If there aren't many collectors interested in the coin the value will be low.  If you have an item where there are only 10 pieces known, but only five collectors, and an item that has 10,000 available but 50,000 collectors, that item with only 10 known is most likely going to be a lot cheaper than the one with 10,000 available.