>> now we can prosecute the prosecutor. faq. at i for >> >> a world record car collection. >> he just kept going. >> his goal was to have one of every car every - - ever made. >> his family promises to carry out his grand plan. >> there is a feeling of excitement and relief and enthusiasm for the. >> can they fulfill the patriarch's dying wish? you don't want that oil on your hands to split it up.

jamie: today i am driving outside tacoma washington on the way to meet the man who started with nothing, built and empire and left his errors enormous wealth and also an overwhelming path. >> stick with other past with the aged 81 and left us with a world collection that has become a full-time job. >> he has invited me to the family house where his fit -- father lived more than two decades where he now lives and works. >> i am so happy to be here for is this a house or garage? >> is a five bedroom house with the 300 car garage.

jamie: as he shows me around it is not just a home but a reflection of his father's passion for the automobile i have then to card shows that have not had this many cars. >> he did it for a long time. >> there is a collector car car, a 1930 cadillac convertible. 1922. 1961 metropolitan it is in here somewhere. the big rooms are completely filled with is a model or manufacturer. >> is whole row is placard's >> have a seat. jamie: you don't have to ask me twice. looked at the steering wheel. i think it has made a written all over it.

his fascination with cars started before we reach the pedals dnc is carol's widow. >> from the time he was born his mother said he loved the car or anything with wheels. jamie: born in 1918 to maria a single mother struggling to make a living and care for three young children. when harold is three she feels she has no choice but to place him in the custody of friends who can better take care of him. when a couple comes to pick up harold their driving 1914 baby grand chevrolet. >> she had not met these people before india's only three and as he described a portly man behind the wheel said you need to set on my lap and drive the car home. harold put cesareans:the steering wheels starting at

a lifelong love affair. after driving a truck drove for g.o.p. returns of fat to build up the garbage and scrap collecting business. but it proves very profitable. >> how successful the the was his business? >> carry it is essentially the tenth largest company in america with admiral revenues topping when did billion dollars in 1963 harold mann resiliency than has another life changing moment. >> a friend was in the model t club and thought that would be a good thing for him to get into. >> and a light bulb goes off he wants to start collecting classic cars it begins with america models every day cars than detracts. jamie: how did he find them?

>> posted than he found himself. jamie: by the '70s his wish list starts up. >> it didn't matter where in the country he said he would go for a drive next the new york in california. >> as the passion grows he would buy at the car. >> he never call themselves a car collector but a car saver he would save cars. >> he could not stand to see a car crashed. >> he went to an auction in idaho and bought the whole lot. jamie: by the navy's the car's totaled into the thousandth for. >> he never scoff. jamie: you never said stop? we could use the money for a vacation but whenever we did

there was always a car somewhere on the way. jamie: as he expands he snatches 50 properties to stockpile his collection. >> he would buy houses to use the garages and then rented a house stood mackey even buys a former catholic porter's school. jamie: how many conversations did you have about what should happen to the collection when he passed? bernanke never thought about that. it was not on his agenda. jamie: but his heirs are thinking of the challenge coming at them once heralded as:a spirit you have to think what you'll do with this stuff and that is very confrontational way did you know, that is averted on

everybody else. you have to have a plan. >> up next he makes the plan but the one party really wants but never gets our "strane inheritance" quiz question. what was the first official white house car? was it an 1899 packard? a 1990 for taft. or 1929 cadillac for hoover in the an

♪ >> so what was the first official white house car? the that jamie: for four decades of businessman amasses a collection of cars that has 3,000 vehicles and even he does not know the exact number. but there is one car he misses out on stick he always wish he got the tucker stick an american inventor in of entreprenuers who designs the tucker said the and in 1948 conceived as the car of the future. >> it was so ahead of its time it has lines.

>> but sales were doomed after investigated for stock fraud in only 51 cars were made before a chicago company folded. then his vintage car collection is the world's largest in the 1998 "guinness book of world records" includes true classics 1910 roadster. 1930 duisburg. 1936 auburn. now in his late '70's harold starts to worry about what will become of his beloved dog knows when he is gone. charlie maxwell was friends with carol for over 30 years jamie: what do you want to happen with the collection? >> you wanted to see it preserved than he felt really, really bad when he would go to car auctions. he would see somebody's life collection dispersed into four quarters of the world.

jamie: easy for him to for deal the way it is his heirs who will have the enormous burden to house and maintain all these cars but. >> did he think about what he had amassed in what his family would face as he got older? to make he made the decision that they would create a museum. jamie: that's right. just for his cars. the family starts by requesting land from the city of tacoma but before it officials will will the property they ask for an initial donation of 300 cars which is 10 percent of the collection. >> i think it almost killed him because the documents he had to put his signature to say he would not own this at some point. i remember his hand shaking and he took a deep breath and handed me the piece of paper then stormed off back

towards home. jamie: november 4th in 2000 after a massive heart attack he died at the age of 81. his heirs inherit his car collection did it even dream of the museum to house it. >> there was a feeling of dread and relief and excitement a and enthusiasm. jamie: how many are there and what are they worth? the family calls the older of the auto appraisal group from virginia. >> it was a massive operation and cars were located in 53 different locations and his filing system was a trash bag because he never had any intention to sell the vehicle we would work 12 hours a day seven days a week. >> the team uncovers classic cars that all the herald and

new he had. >> we would open a door that had not been opened in decades and 12 cars have been there for years covered with cotton would flowers or convertibles and cars that were so unique. >> they locate to thousand 973 cars not including the countless rested once. >> i believe his goal was to have one of every car every eight - - ever made. jamie: he is not allowed to say what the collection is worth but estimates are $100 million at the time of his staff. the family tries to realize his dream of a car museum and will start to hit the road block. >> creating a museum is like

watching sausage get made it is ugly and a hard. jamie: they are not the only ones with car trouble next. >> here's another quiz question. which classic american sports car came first? is it the chevy coveret? ford thunderbird or dodge

jamie: classic american sports car came first? it's, a, the chevy corvette from its introduction in 1953. chevy produced 1.5 million of them. jamie: in the early000s jamie: in the early 2000

harold lemay family is struggling to honor his dying wish to the creation of a museum where his collection can be on public display. when that will be featured is the black beauty model t. i meet for a driving lesson. hand cranks the car to started. >> faq are up for it. >> given did good crank. >> ouch is this a trick? come on. get me a car that works. >> there you go. jamie: the model d is considered the first affordable automobile but it

is not particularly easy to drive february cassava right? is easy to see why he fell in love with his classic. the hair is blowing and the top is down. hit the brake. that is for word. throttle up. perfect. not a scratch but a collision in is in store for the lemay family trying to get the museum into drive you need a building and fund-raising in all the next steps. the family donates 600 cars and $15 million but it is not be enough so they hire a fund-raiser who tells them

they have to have corporate sponsors for more big bucks that means they will have to sacrifice their control and vision of the museum. the family agrees but soon finds himself stocks. >> on the one hand you want to see the legacy of the story preserved by yet you cannot control it. the museum adds cars from other collections to attract national attention in thin the board tells the family they don't have the budget to preserve all of harold's cars and many of the ones he donated are redundant so they decided what harold never would have considered considered, and sell his cars. jamie: would you ask them to sell other cars?

>> harold had only sold three collector cars in his lifetime. family members are dismayed. >> we don't want to be the one who said we split it up you know, what that car oil on your hand. >> if you don't want them then why did you ask them? it made it seem they wanted them to sell them. >> it auctions off 145 donated automobiles. the estimated value well into the millions. his packard convertible victoria sells at 130,000. while the rolls-royce goes for more than 65 grant. the funds do their part to help the museum keep going but when the building finally opens in 2012 the name has been changed from the harold lemay museum to

the lemay america's car museum that reflects the shift of focus from just harold to other donors as well. that is discouraging to the bears because his wish was for a museum dedicated to his world record collection but the family believes they can still keep his vision alive. floyd you believe the second museum just minutes down the road from the first? next.

>> now, back to "strange henc jamie: harold lemay family faces the dilemma of how to honor his legacy. by a chunk of his huge collection has been sold in the museum in tacoma washington originally meant to be devoted solely to herald has a different mission. then a solution for the family decides to refit that

school property that herald purchased in the '90s. >> this is the other part of the equation choose save the of largest collection. >> it is a museum and the event center. >> we wanted another one that was more about the lemay family and collecting. we're only 6 miles apart the very different culturally. jamie: the lemay considers it the little brother to the sleek to coleman of museum their dirty fingernail version that celebrates harold's cars in and nobody else. it depends on the of hard work of everyone here from the to regard it the guy or the car repair man. >> so are you in the black

for the red? >> at some point not far away it will be a self sustaining business and it looks like kimball be healthy for a long time. jamie: won a nascar eric tells me i need to see. >> 1948 tucker. jamie: tucker? i thought he'd never got one. >> my grandmother bought it after he died. jamie: really? >> so we went to an auction and grandmother bought the talker he could not have before he passed away. jamie: unbelievable. >> we knew it was that important. he would love it. if grandpa were to look at how hard we tried to do what we have done and he would be proud.

it took a lot of volunteers come in the community, the families who never got off track. that is his legacy basically jamie: one last story. back in the '80s at a garbage convention in chicago he found a car for sale of 1914 baby green chevy the same model he told as a three-year-old of the day he said goodbye to his mom. harold plotted on the spot and put into the back of his fancy garbage truck that he had purchased at the trade show. they called it all the way back here to tacoma and there it sits to this day. he never let it go. i am jamie colby. thanks for watching stranger

inheritance. and remember you cannot take it with you. send me an email or go to our website. "strangeit it right now. >> found in grandpa's attic. >> dirty, dusty old box. like, wow. i don't know what it >> said dusty box that and know what it is. >> a discovery that makes the baseball world slip. >> ty cobb:is wagner. >> i am thinking all my god i have $1 billion. >> too much of the good thing? >> it changes the market is a negative way. jamie: i am jamie colby.

today i northwest ohio on the edge of the area called the great black swamp a family has lived here for more than 100 years so when they understood their strange inheritance they call it the blacks will find >> in 2011 because since a and i inherited the family home from orient she left is the note we will find things in this whole we never knew existed. jamie: a54 year-old restaurant owner had invited me to the family home to the small town of defiance ohio. >> a pleasure to meet you. >> thank you for having me to the family home the first caveman into the family 1909

it needs a little tlc. jamie: i tsa be careful? okay starting to klay help the home that has been here more than a century. after several weeks of sorting through the house only the attic remains. him and his cousin decide to tackle the project. jamie: it is empty now but not in 2012. carl and carla walk-in to find one centuries' worth of family heirlooms and dusty boxes filled to the rafters literally. >> all the way up to here. engaged uncover a box against the back wall and they had never seen it before. >> i opened it up and i don't know what it is

because since sees small cardboard photos tightly wrapped in twine and recognized billiard -- familiar faces there baseball players tied cub cub, wagner but they are not baseball cards, not to us. >> this looks like baseball cards miniaturize was no statistics or if nothing. jamie: how many. >> hundreds of. jamie: what do you say? >> actually we set them on the dresser in the hallway and went back into the attic jamie: but then he starts to wonder where the cards have come from tucci collect them off a cereal box or do they go back to his grandfather carl? to make a german immigrant working his way through

chicago. >> and then he starts a business as a butcher and in 1905 he scraped together enough to open his own shop. the carl hench meet market a and sells candy and other grocery items. jamie: was seized successful? >> barry. very well known. jamie: he buries his love jenny and they start a family to buy the dream home. by now baseball has large establish itself as a national pastime in these cars to sell the products. >> the first cave in the late '80s it was one of the first opportunities for urged citizens to own a photo. >> the candy companies jump

in and the caravel cards held to show the players of the day. >> the children love the candy put the cards even more. >> there is card flipping gains. >> all the al is they may have come from his grandfather's store. >> our guess is he would have given them away as promotional items and when you have leftovers you save them for the next promotion. jamie: beyond that they are not sure what they have but he tells his cousin hear they will find out tinderboxes almost thrown out to several times before he brings them to the restaurant to be researched. >> i was looking than 1809 carvel card is identical but

they have an estimated value on this card of around 15,000. jamie: he discovers and a similar card as a car -- carvel card at 40,000. >> they are pristine and i have a box of them. jamie: you are sitting on a bundle of money. >> car is starting to race in and starting to think only got i have $1 million i have to share. jamie: lot more than that if he can confirm their real. >> you are a little skeptical but you have always looking forward to the cards that will come in. setting off the rookie card craze? the 1968 nolan ryan.

or the 1989

♪ is it the insightful strategies and analytical capabilities that make edward jones one of the biggest financial services firms in the country? or is it 13,000 financial advisors who take the time to say thank you? 'night jim. gonna be a while? i am liz got a little writing to do. ♪ it's why edward jones is the big company that doesn't act that way. >> so which helped set off the rookie card craze? it's c. he didn't have the hall of fame career some predicted. but the cards remained

popular. jamie: while the grandchildren of karl and jenny hench are cleaning out the jamie: rao the grandchildren are cleaning out the home in ohio is find a box containing what appears to be vintage baseball cards. >> dicey tie cobb $40,000 and looking and seeing nine is better. jamie: and has all the greats and not just one of each player but dozens in all there are 800 cards mostly in pristine condition and. >> it takes it out of a scope in the realm that you are not quite sure how to handle it. jamie: find out if the cards are real.

so they went to a sports car erred specialist in dallas. >> was very cryptic and on a daily basis we received calls from people but there always reprints spee rickey's a take some photos and he will take a look when he gets a chance to connect with the first pitcher i thought it will be filed in the to good to be true but they looked amazing and i saw nothing that suggested they were not real so the knicks plan was he would send me a sample of the cards. jamie: he overnights eight cards to say call me before you open when the box arrives. >> i called him up and he was on the phone and the moment of silence that feels like minutes it is only seconds and i pulled out a large plastic colder and

then i was just floored because i had no idea what a 100 year-old baseball card looked like a brand new. >> from national mitt i knew these are real. >> his next question is you have any more? yes. hundreds. >> i would be happy to was just the eight cards then i realize it is a find of a lifetime. jamie: carl calls them be black swamp find. there quickly shipped to dallas on an armored truck and locked in the safety of a fault. the next card is officially graded on a scale of one through 10. he goes as a professional sports authenticator.

i meet up with the president of psa and a national sports collectors collection and -- convention. >> pavers cannot be just stayed number one and. >> looked at all of the defects with surface where, multiple krises it is as low as it could get. jamie: this is number eight. >> almost but if you look close you can see tight the little pieces of wear on each corner that is the difference. jamie: those tiny imperfections could make a difference of thousands of dollars this is worth roughly $100 if it was number nine may be north of 1,000 if number 10 more at 5,000. jamie: what about the black swamp find? was your reaction?

>> it was mind blowing. jamie: before the black swamp find rawhided stick -- the highest grade ever given in that series was the seventh and his speech that at the first at bat. >> ty cobb was greeted at number nine little did we know there were 50 more in the course hundreds of eighths and even 10's in the set. jamie: this sounds good but not so fast. the collection doubles the node population in the unprecedented size and quality could crash the baseball card collectors' market. with the inheritance end up being too much of a good thing? >> if you would flood the market with this at one time it would diminish the value. jamie: next. paid for a babe ruth

baseball card? is it 78,000, 517,000, or $1.3 million? the answer in you show up. you stay up. you listen. you laugh. you worry. you do whatever it takes to take care of your family. and when it's time to plan for your family's future, we're here for you. we're legalzoom, and for over 10 years we've helped families just like yours with wills, living trusts and more. visit us today for legal help you can count on. legalzoom. legal help is here.

♪ >> so what's the most ever paid for jamie: in 2012 in defiance ohio 800 vintage baseball cards are found in the attic of the family home. most of them remain id year mint condition which is rare

with cars half their age. before the collecting craze they were tories to be used in bikes or games. i will toss the card you will toss a card if you match it you get to keep it if you don't i get to go home with your card. a i am a winner. fortunately his grandfather was not interested in such games and the collection should easily be worth millions if they played their cards right. selling in the black swamp find all of one's could flood the market and severe the drive prices down.

>> and to propose a series of separate sales to maximize the family's stake. >> we realize to sell the said over a number of years a and he sells the estate between the cree and children and divided into each set each family member can join a consortium to sell the cards or keep their share as a family heirloom. jamie: did anyone keep their cards? >> some of them did this to make the most agreed to sell the cards gradually. they come up with nearly $3 billion. that is staggering. >> this is something we almost saw through a

dumpster. jamie: august 2012 the camp did yard ball park put the first 37 up for auction. >> the best of the best the best crated of all of them that we had. jamie: the bidding was "fast & furious" some go $40,000 this second to lot goes into madrid 86,000 but the real cleanup hitter was the old the hall of fame:is wagner in existence. to under $40,000. >> we were flabbergasted. this is a wonderful gift from our grandfather what more can you ask for?

jamie: the family's total for the night was $566,000. but they also sold the best cards will the black swamp defined have enough gas to get the children to the $3 million gold? next.

>> now, back to "strange inheritance." jamie: karl kissner and his jamie: carl and his family are selling off strange inheritance with a rare baseball cards via $3 billion in the initial of share brought in 566,000 and the family still has plenty to sell. and then with to online auctions racked up $419,000.

august 2013 in chicago then there is another 228,000. big apple 2014 number 8.5 and number nine assist in the $300,000 paul. to more online auctions raise the total at $1.7 billion. -- million. then i joined carl and his cousin at the national for collectors convention for the latest auction. >> this is exciting watching everybody. >> the last person standing with the hand in the air gets the item.

jamie: of first is the georgia peach. >> when the auctioneers slows down you know, that it is getting good. >> sold. $40,000. jamie: now stepping up to is the plague is number nine wagner. jamie: 33,007 the hundred $50. the earnings included in the

online sales totaled $133,000 lifting the totals at 1.8 million. >> are you satisfied? >> rand the person who buys it loves it and will add it to his collection maybe he will pass on to his family. jamie: of fox forgotten in the attic eventually changes the industry forever along with the lives of the 28 grandchildren. so far it is like 40 home runs well on track to surpass the goal. >> there is still 10 more sets of ravaging $200,000 per cent. >> what would read grandpa's say? finicky would be pleased i

am sure he is because a whole family is looking down with smiles on their faces. jamie: is it the most appliques of some guys throwing his card collection not? when he made his big discovery in the attic he found several cards around the rafters and floorboards he believes they went flying during one of his grand mine cleaning purges when she would pitch boxes of a joke right out the window into a big amount below. thank goodness she never got ahold of that one little box in the quarter. i am jamie colby. thanks for watching "strange

inheritance". and remember, you can't take it with you. me o to our website, "strange ♪ >> ♪ saturday in the park ♪ ♪ i think it was the 4th of july ♪ >> ♪ whoa-ooh-oh ♪ listen to the music ♪ whoa-ooh-oh ♪ listen to the music >> ♪ even the nights are better now that we're here together ♪ >> in the early '70s, rock music mellowed out and showed a softer side. singer-songwriters, acoustic guitars, and sun-kissed melodies took over the airwaves and the sound of soft rock