I found this website that lists two different values for the 5 Mark, but I don’t understand the difference. Can someone explain?

The topless woman is Europa, and your link says that this particular note would be worth between €50 to €250. You can find it in the table under the heading “BRD ab 1948” – (FRG since 1948).

@longgone Do you know why there are two different value columns?

I’ll be keeping them regardless, because these are things that my grandma collected when she traveled the world, but I’m still curious.

Yep, though I just learned this myself:

“vf” stands for “very fine”; ”An attractive note, but with more evidence of handling and wear. May have several folds both vertically and horizontally. Paper may have minimal dirt, or possible colour smudging. Paper itself is still relatively crisp and floppy. There are no tears into the border area, although the edges do show slight wear. Corners also show wear but not full rounding.”

“unc” stands for “uncirculated”; ”A perfectly preserved note, never mishandled by the issuing authority, a bank teller, the public or a collector. Paper is clean and firm, without discoloration. Corners are sharp and square, without any evidence of rounding, folding or bending. No light handling is present, no compromise, a perfect note. An uncirculated note will have its original, natural sheen.”

Source.

Ah, okay. Thank you! :)

Well, you don’t need my help.

@ibstubro If you have anything to add, feel free! I only found good info from that one site, because I didn’t really know how to do a good search.

I’m good, @DrasticDreamer.

I could have helped with the difference in values given by the site. Probably not so much with the initial evaluation.

Okay. I’ll add that the professional grading of money is a fee-based service and usually costs as much or more than the face value of a common bill.

Keep them. Cherish them. If you’d like your grandmother’s legacy to outlive you, frame and annotate the bills (on the front mat) as attractively as possible. If a family member doesn’t love them, a stranger will likely pay more than the market value of the bills.

I could kill a year, here.

@ibstubro I actually think they would look really neat if they were framed in something simple with a black background. Maybe hang it on a wall with some other stuff.

I used to go to that website, but I completely forgot about it! Thank you for the link! I love stuff like that.