Mother-in-law's mother, coming over from Germany (through Ellis Island) smuggled gold coins in the hem of her dress.

Family still has them, may have to convince them to convert to Digital Gold and no seeds to sew except for the 12  in your head. 

 At this point, they are family heirlooms that tell an important story about your family history.  I think it would be honoring her legacy to keep them so that you can keep her story alive for the future generations of your family. 

 Absolutely