Bingo! That is exactly it. Schödinger's comic. I should've come up with that.
And to the other poster's point that it can be reasonably assumed that there are a number of 9.8s and lots of 9.6s, and if the value of a 9.8 is $75 and a 9.6 is $40, then maybe the box is worth several thousand dollars?
And then there is the chance there is a 10 inside, but who knows...
In terms of how it's been stored, the box has see wear and tear of near 30 years of following me around but I would expect that there is at least a central pristine zone inside the box that has experience virtually no outside effects.
Anyway, this discussion helps. I signed up to this board just to ask this question. Thanks all.