1980's Foreign Stamps - Newbie

I inherited a large collection of stamps from my grandfather and I mean a lot. Many Many Books and boxes. A lot of cancelled just thrown in boxes, but also a lot of Mint categorized by country. They are mostly early to mid 80s.

Are there any specific countries I should look into for some stamps of worth? I am notlooking to become a collector, but I also don't want them to deteriorate in my basement either.

Thanks for any help you guys can offer.

FIRST, move them out of the basement, preferably to an air-conditioned space. Even if they'll be in the way, do this FIRST. Check for dampness or deterioration on the bottoms of the boxes; if you find any, replace with new boxes immediately.

In the way and in AC is not really an option. This is kind of why I'd like to at the very least sell some and downsize the collection.

Do you have the ability to scan a few to give us an idea of what you have? Also, can you give us an idea of a few of the countries that you have the largest accumulations of?

Either or both of those will help to focus an answer.

My interests are largely pre-1940, but there are a few countries that hold my interest well into the modern era.

Not long ago, I bought a cigar box of modern stamps, sorted into glassine envelopes by country. Some envelopes had as few as three or four stamps, some had a hundred or more. A few countries were represented with multiple envelopes. I think I paid $20 for the box...maybe as little as $15, but certainly no more than $25. They'll give me hours of entertainment some day, and who knows what might actually be hiding in there, but frankly, I'd be lucky to get my money back.

I only mention this to illustrate how common it is to run across accumulations, and how relatively little they often change hands for. Of course there might be items of some monetary value in yours; it takes time and some education to discover that, though.

In the course of providing some more information, you might get hooked. It happens...

I'll stand by what I said; poor storage can reduce the value by 50%, in extreme cases, by 90%. Cardboard boxes on a cement floor in a basement is one of the very worst combinations.

I agree with doug2222's comments on storage. You should try to do the best you can to safeguard what is there.

Condition is paramount, and buyers of stamps that were issued in the 1980s will expect perfect condition. (There is generally some premium paid for a 100-year-old stamp in perfect condition. There is no premium for a 30-year-old stamp in perfect condition...that is the expected condition for newer stamps.)

I'll see what I can come up with. I know there is a lot of Portugal, Spain, Mexico, Canada, and then he seemed to focus on some islands. Such as the Caymen Islands. I will see what I come up with over the next couple days.

You can always go to the library and look up values in the Scott Catalogue.