it is in rough shape. asking out of curiousity not expecting a windfall. Really just want to know if we should slap a sticker on it and put it in a garage sale or do some work to find out if it is worth enough take to a dealer etc
How does it sound? If its really old and you’ve had it for ‘decades’, it probably is in rough shape. But the best thing to do is to take to your local violin shop. A trip to the store could tell you a lot – and if by chance, its worth a couple thousand, that would be much better than selling it for a couple bucks at a garage sale…and also, a violin shouldn’t be sitting outside in the garage anyway, the varnish could melt and cause horrible damage…So, just bring it to the store and have them check it out. It’s better to be safe than sorry! 
Good Luck
An excellent resource for your violin lessons need.