I found Grandma's Stash, now what?

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While cleaning up the estate I've found a stack of bills that it appears Grandma was hiding from Grandpa.
It's mostly $20.00 bills with dates from 1954, 1969, and 1979.
I've picked up the Charlton "Canadian Government Paper Money" Catalogue (2009), and done a bit of research, but I realize I'm no expert.
The bills vary in condition from very good to poor.
I have no interest in keeping the bills, I'd like to sell them, but of course, I'd like to get maximum value (with minimal work on my part).
So my questions begin with....
If I went to a (larger) shop in the GTA and asked for a quote, how trustworthy can I expect them to be? (will they in fact even make me an offer?)
Am I likely to get a better price by breaking the collection up and selling it in lots instead of selling the whole pile? (lets say face value is more than $1000.00)
Should I be selling privately instead of to a shop (to get maximum value)?
I'm sure I'll have more questions as I learn more.

Thanks for your help.

What you should do is go through your notes and try to match them up with the notes you find in your catalogue.  You may have a collectible note but don't be too disappointed if you don't have that many (like only a few).  Remember your grandma didn't put these notes aside for any aesthetic or with any degree of expertise as to which notes are "keepers."  If any of the notes appear to have some higher book value- BV (other than being regular issue) then you could go to a shop and ask for a quote (you don't have to sell).  With the 54 notes you may want to take them to the shop just so you can identify "Modified" Queen's portrait notes from the "Devil's Face" note (the later being collectible and sellable in most conditions).  The other note to keep an eye for (& set aside) is one with an asterisk before the SN (replacement). Otherwise- if the notes (Fine or very circulated modified 54, 69 or 79) appear to be issued in the 10 or 100 million range- go to the bank and deposit them.  Most likely your notes will be in Very Fine (a few creases) to F or worse unless your grandmother had an eye for crisp notes and intended to leave them to you as a collection.  Limp circulated $20 notes are so extremely common that few collectors care to buy them.  These are the notes I would suggest you cash in at the bank once you've separated them from the rarer varieties using your book.  If you are really unsure how to do this- and you're in a rush to unload these notes- then maybe go to a dealer and ask- but I would suggest you buy something for his/her services to help you out (or sell him a collectible note that he/she likes). 

If I went to a (larger) shop in the GTA and asked for a quote, how trustworthy can I expect them to be? (will they in fact even make me an offer?)

This is a fairly loaded question.  You have to remember that a dealer pays rent for his shop so he has to give you a mark up that is much less then book value (BV: tends to be the highest price that a collector would pay if they desired that note).  The market has really been soft & stagnant and I would suggest most of the BV are very optimistic (esp with the newer more common notes).  If you don't believe me then just watch ebay auctions of the same notes you have and you'll see that they won't get much more then face.  He won't even offer to buy any (for more then face) unless they're in great shape (nearly UNC or UNC and better depending on the rarity).  Your 2009 catalogue has many notes with a BV higher than the 2012 catalogue as it takes time for the catalogue to adjust to the flooded dampened market these days.

Am I likely to get a better price by breaking the collection up and selling it in lots instead of selling the whole pile? (lets say face value is more than $1000.00)
Should I be selling privately instead of to a shop (to get maximum value)?

First off- if any of the notes you have are in excellent condition and appear somewhat uncommon (which you can determine by matching the serial numbers of your notes with the # in the catalogue) then you are best to break them up (sell them individually).  If they're common (like most 1979) and have low book value but are in excellent condition then you may wish to sell them in lots (esp if you have consecutive serial numbers). 

Since you are a new member you would be best off to try to sell online I believe (ebid or ebay) there may be more ways to do this (eg sell them at a show or if you know a member here he may be able to help you)  if that is what you mean by privately.  Do not expect someone to sell your notes without charging you a fee.

Hope this helps and good luck.

Fantastic answer. Thank you very much, you've given me a ton of information to work with.
I think I'll pick up a newer catalogue so I have a more realistic idea of the values on todays market.
I'll sort things as best I can then go from there.
Thanks again!
I had a look on the traders forum here & noticed someone looking for a bill I have, (http://www.cdnpapermoney.com/forum/index.php?topic=12979.0) but the 2009 catalogue shows it's worth face value.  I guess I'd have to chat with the potential buyer to see what they'd be willing to pay to cover shipping expenses and something for my troubles. (then again, the buyer may be looking for an unc bill, which mine isn't)

For some reason my Grandma had a bunch of $MXN centavos.  Nobody knows why.  But if anything is worth less than face value it is this. 

The older generations tended to be savers, but these days we can run our household like a swap shop if we want.