HEEEELLLP!!
Heck, that's nothing. A long while back I purchased a whole tub of various ICs in various ranges of "quality" (ie, some were smashed bugs, others were brand new). I went through the entire bin, and only about a month or so ago did I finally get everything completely sorted (there was also miscellaneous transistors and other small components mixed in).
Best thing to do is just jump in and start sorting. Put on a static strap first; most older TTL devices are ok handling in general, but CMOS stuff can be fragile. Depending on how you want to sort and store them, you might look into getting some anti-static foam to stick 'em into. You might want to get some parts bins, or do the plastic baggie thing.
Be aware that some parts you may not be able to identify. Put those into a ??? pile and move on; come back to them later. Google is your friend; look up datasheets, and save them in an archive as you go along (I typically keep a copy of every datasheet I run across - even if I don't have the part, maybe in the future I will) - note that in your inventory as well.
Some parts may be "house marked" - that is, they were numbered by the manufacturer for the company that bought them; good luck figuring them out! Depending on the numbering scheme it may or may not be possible.
It sounds like you have a big task ahead of you; it may take a while, but you'll get there.
A few things to note - if any of the ICs have gold leads, are made of white ceramic, or have windows on top, you may want to set them aside. Gold leads can indicate mil-spec parts; white ceramic can indicate similar, or other "specialness", and if there is a window, it is likely a UV-EPROM device.
Some UV-EPROM sizes and types are sought by collectors and restorers of old arcade machines. If you have such a device, and there is a label over the window with hand-written wording - leave the label in place (and if you have more than one, and can identify a set - keep those together). Such EPROMs store code and data, and depending on what they were for, might be worth more (ie, its software for an old embedded system) than the chips alone. Of course, it has to be the right software (old arcade romsets are highly sought). You want to leave the label in place so that any code doesn't get corrupted by light exposure (although depending on the age and other such factors, it may or may not matter).
But first, identify all the chips - you should keep as many as you can, as long as you think they are something you will use (for instance, from my pile I found several AM radio chips - basically an AM radio on a chip - I need those like I need a hole in my head). I would keep any op-amps (especially if it is an instrumentation amp!), audio amps, comparators, digital logic, etc - those are all useful.
Good luck, and have fun - I can't wait to see what your haul included!
