was giving them false information, was overtly political and was violating his fbi agreement, you'd think those fbi counterintelligence investigators who gave us this warrant and gave us this tw ♪ >> a farmer with an unusual hobby hands down a humongous collection to his family. >> anybody that collects 150 tractors -- doesn't that make you eccentric? ♪ >> he spent a lifetime, and a pretty penny, amassing it. >> definitely a method to grandpa's madness. >> is it a treasure trove of valuable americana? >> it was almost out of control maybe you would say. >> or a herd of white elephants? >> dad, are you ever gonna stop? you know, for one thing, you're running out of room. where are you going to put them all? [ door creaks ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ] [ bird caws ] ♪ >> i'm jamie colby, and i'm just

pulling into le mars, iowa. it's a short distance from sioux city. i'm about to meet a family that's farmed this land for generations and learn about a very strange inheritance. ♪ >> my name is roma lancaster. after my dad passed away, we knew that there would be a lot of things that would have to be sorted out and gone through on the farm. >> roma's father, dave hawkins, has deep roots in this part of iowa, going back more than a century. >> my father's ancestors immigrated to the united states in late 1800s. they moved westward with the expansion of the railroad, and my grandfather, my dad's father, albert hawkins, farmed just south of here, about a mile. >> dave hawkins grew up hearing stories of his ancestors plowing this land behind a team of

horses. as a young farmer in the 1950s, just out of school, dave spots a tractor rusting in the weeds. it sparks his imagination. >> the 1920 9d is the tractor that belonged to my grandfather. that's what got my dad into the collecting again was when he restored that tractor that had originally belonged to his father. >> as his farm grows to over 500 acres of corn and soybeans, and his family prospers, hawkins seeks out the next vintage tractor to buy and restore. then the next and the next, including this one, a minneapolis-moline that hawkins bought, restored, and donated to the plymouth county museum. >> how old would this one be? >> it's a 1944 model. >> incredible. >> i meet bruce brock at the museum. a fellow history buff, he and dave hawkins went way back. >> i was proud to be his

friend. he was a good businessman, he was a good father, a good husband, a great neighbor, and a good community guy. >> i understand coin collecting and car collecting, but tractors, bruce -- tractors? what was he thinking? >> these are a representation of the past that farmers and farm families and farm relations really enjoy looking at because it brings back memories. >> tractors are part of iowa's history. in 1892, john froelich invented the practical gas-powered tractor in a tiny village about 300 miles east of here. the mechanization of farming helps america become an agricultural giant. >> alex, are you in here? >> there he is. >> and even though none of dave's four children tills the soil like he did, he does share his passion for tractors with his grandson, alex. >> i can remember as young as 3 or 4 years old, riding in the combine with my grandpa and taking naps on the floor, and if

we weren't doing that, we were driving up and down the road looking for other tractors to work on and fix up in the shop. >> pretty soon, dave's sheds are filled with old tractors in various states of repair -- more than 100 of them. >> did mom ever say, "no more tractors"? >> no, not really, but i remember dad called the tractors his "savings account," you know, to justify it. through the years, as things became tight in the sheds, and, you know, there was just kind of a joking question about "dad, are you ever gonna stop?" >> the answer is, no, he's not going to stop. family vacations become cross-country tractor hunts. ♪ >> so would you say that he was eccentric? >> he was a little crazy sometimes, but he was definitely a savvy businessman. >> over the years, grandpa probably put $100,000, probably not over a quarter of $1 million million into his collection. >> but it wasn't about the money.

it was a passion, it was a love, and it was just something he wanted to do. he didn't really get into the collecting real heavily until he had the money to help us go to college and make sure we got the education that we wanted. >> born of hardy iowa farmer stock, dave seems as indestructible as those tractors. everybody assumes he'll plow on forever. then, all of a sudden, in the summer of 2011, his 73-year-old body grinds to a halt. >> dad was a man who never complained. he was only sick for a few days. we did not even know what was wrong with him. the autopsy results came back that we found out that he had cancer. [ voice breaking ] i'm sad because my dad's gone. sorry. >> it was more than just a shock. it was a life-changing blow.

>> he went to the same church from the day he was born until the day he died. he was baptized and had his funeral in the same small country church. it was very important to him that we all knew that legacy and continued that on, also. >> at first, life on the farm continues as before. dave's son-in-law, alex's dad, todd popken, farms the acreage. alex tends the tractors. but soon, the loss of their patriarch sends ripples of change through the family. dave's widow, judy, moves into town. >> did that surprise you? >> no. mom had said for 10 years, "if something happens to you first, i do not want to stay out here by myself." >> dave's absence creates a crisis, sparking strong disagreement within the family. should they hang on to dave's beloved collection or sell it and close out his

"savings account"? >> at the time of his death, how prepared was he for you to take on this huge obligation? >> i wish we would have even had just a couple days to ask him some questions that would have helped us make sure we made the decisions that were how he wished for them to be made. and obviously the more people involved, the harder that decision becomes. you have to know, there were some bumpy roads that we traveled there. >> that's next. >> and now for our "strange inheritance" quiz question... the answer when we return. [ bird caws ] the answer when we return.

♪look into my eyes ♪you will see ♪what you mean to me

♪don't tell me it's not worth trying for♪ ♪you know it's true ♪everything i do ♪i do it for you [ bird caws ] >> now the answer to our "strange inheritance" quiz question... it's "b," lamborghini. >> the untimely death of iowa farmer dave hawkins in 2011 leaves his family in a state of upheaval. his widow, judy, moves into town, leaving the homestead empty for the first time in generations. dave's grandson, alex, a 23-year-old newlywed, and his wife, maria, buy the house and

move in... a bold move by the young man, who has the best shot of keeping the hawkins' tradition of family farming alive. alex says his grandma made the house deal easy for the first-time buyer. now, isn't that what grandma's are for? >> so, did she give you a good deal? >> yeah. a family deal. >> but the family hasn't even started to discuss what to do with the strange inheritance -- dave hawkins' collection of rare and antique tractors. >> we didn't even talk about it until at least a year or almost a year had passed. i don't think it was easy for anyone. and we did go through that where, you know, we weren't all agreeing. the number-one toughest decision was, can we keep the collection or do we have to sell part of it? financially and time-wise, there was nobody that could do what dad had done. >> did he tell you before he passed? >> we had talked about it, but never made a decision, or he

had never made a decision about what he wanted to do. >> finally, dave's widow, judy, asks the kids to come to a decision. it's not easy. >> how do you come to an agreement when each party has a different idea of what is right or wrong? to please five parties is a tough, tough decision to have to come to grips with. >> amid this family discord, tammy's son, alex, spends nights and weekends keeping his grandpa's precious tractors from deteriorating. >> there's a lot of expenses to keep them -- insurance, upkeep, batteries, tires, and to keep the collection and not upkeep it, in my opinion, was not an option. >> dave hawkins' pride and joy is becoming a sore point. >> i was at a full-time job,

as i was just graduated from college, just got married, and maybe some of them didn't realize all the time and work and money that it was gonna take to keep those tractors up. >> alex thinks that could add up to more than $10,000 a year. >> there just is too much of a financial and time commitment that none of us were able to exercise, and that we didn't expect alex to exercise, and we made the decision then at that point to sell the items. ♪ >> the family decides the best way to maximize the collection's value is through that great american country tradition -- the open-call auction. and they keep it local by hiring dad's old friend bruce brock, who's also an auctioneer. >> they wanted their father and their husband represented in a fashion that would make him proud because i know that he

made them proud, and i think that was important. >> what did the family tell you about how much they wanted to generate from the sale? >> they didn't really tell us anything. they just trusted us to bring them home as many net dollars as we could. >> but it's not quite that simple for the hawkins heirs, who made a curious discovery after their father died, one that could affect their bottom line and their father's legacy. from beyond the grave, dave hawkins is guiding his family on how to handle their strange inheritance. that's next. >> here's another quiz question for you... the answer when we return. [ bird caws ]

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>> so, how many acres could a farmer till in a day with a horse-drawn plow? the answer is "b," 1 to 3 acres. ♪ >> after months of discussion, dave hawkins' heirs have come to a painful conclusion -- it's time to auction off his lifelong collection of tractors. but one more family member gets to weighs in -- dave himself. >> it was discovered in my dad's desk that he had a handwritten list of the tractors that he wished for us to save. >> these tractors, going back to the 1920s, are the cream of dave's crop and must stay in the family. their dad's list gets them thinking. what else should they keep off the auction block? so, they each make their own

lists. >> it had to be godly intervention that when we got together for a family meeting and compared our lists, nobody had picked wanting the same item. at first, roma herself is undecided. >> one day, i would think, "yes, i should keep a tractor." and the next day i'm thinking, "you know what? it's only metal, and my memories of being with dad are invaluable to me." >> in the end, she can't resist keeping two bright green john deeres -- a 1943 b and a '48 m. meanwhile, alex and his dad work the family farm with this 1964 deere. okay. that's one. he asks if i want to drive it. >> over there are your brakes. >> brakes are important. >> this is your lever to select the gear that you go in. >> and, of course, he's gentleman enough to coach this city girl on the basics, like how you turn the darned thing on. >> i'm gonna start it up. i see a key. >> yep. [ engine turns over ] >> there you go. perfect.

>> i wouldn't... >> [ laughs ] >> we don't have anything like this in new york. >> nothing like this? >> no, nothing. >> you think the taxis will get out of the way? >> oh, i think so. i think everyone will get out of the way. [ engine shuts off ] unbelievable experience driving a tractor. >> my pleasure. >> thank you. that was exciting. hard to imagine that the hawkins heirs had to wrangle more than 100 of these things to get ready for auction. >> you worked hard to get ready, i'm sure. >> alex and todd popken worked through the winter ahead of that sale date getting tractors ready. >> a lot of sweat, a lot of tears, and a lot of laughter. >> auctioneer bruce brock knows the key is getting as many motivated bidders as possible to the hawkins' farm on auction day. tell me about the night before. you get a good night's sleep?

>> very little. we are entrusted to, in just a few hours, bring to fruition a lifetime of collecting and sacrifice that the family's gone through. it was a big day for us, and we had everything planned, right down to the most minute detail. >> well, every detail except one. [ thunder rumbles ] >> the day of the auction started out a little bit on the rocky side. >> that's next. [ thunder rumbles ] thanks for coming. no problem. -you're welcome. this is the durabed of the all new chevy silverado. it looks real sturdy. -the bed is huge. it has available led cargo area lighting. lights up the entire bed. it even offers a built in 120 volt outlet. wow. plug that in for me. whoa! -holy smokes! -oh wow! and the all new silverado has more trim levels than any other pickup. whoa! oh wow! -very cool. there's something for all of us.

absolutely. it's time to upgrade. (laughter)

>> narrator: now back to "strange inheritance." >> after months of tough decisions and hard work, dave hawkins' loved ones gather at the family farm for the auction of his collection of antique tractors. just as the gavel is about to be raised... [ thunder crashes ] it starts to pour buckets.

you went to all this preparation, though, for the auction, and the sky opens up. and what was it like? >> disappointing that it might damper the crowd, but you can't ever wish away rain if you're a farmer. >> dad would sing a song, "you are my sunshine," to all of us a lot when we were small, and so that morning, on the way over here, i had ran into town and got us four yellow roses. >> then the clouds part. >> and so, after it stopped raining, i took a yellow rose to my mother and my two sisters and said, "you know, dad will always be our sunshine." so, we all carried our yellow roses around, and he was our sunshine.

[ auctioneer calling ] >> once the bidding starts, it's immediately clear that dave hawkins isn't the only one obsessed with these big machines. was it a sell-out? >> it was a sell-out. and we were hoping to get 500 or 600 people, and we were almost double that. >> the bidders come from as far away as canada and mexico. 1936 john deere a -- sold. $2,000. '46 deere slant dash -- sold. $3,000. '49 case cs -- sold. $600 '51 oliver row-crop -- sold. $8,000. '58 john deere 730 diesel -- sold. $20,000. tractors are pretty valuable to people. >> tractors are pretty valuable, both emotionally and financially. >> the family's dedication to dave hawkins' memory pays off. the auction nets around $400,000 for his heirs.

i guess you could say dave is still taking care of his family. >> i had one child still in college, and my oldest child had graduated from college. and so, i was very excited to be able to use that money to help them with their college debt. >> dave, who hated debt, would be proud. oh, my goodness. but it could have been a lot more. if you add up the value of the 23 tractors that stay in the hawkins family, it comes to more than $180,000. still, there are a few tears as 100-plus tractors are trucked away to collectors around the country and beyond. >> it was kind of a bittersweet deal. there was a couple that i would have liked to have kept. >> i just feel bad for alex going out to all the empty sheds. >> but alex hopes the sheds won't be empty forever.

>> as i get older and get my own collection going, maybe i'll have the same problem again in 50 years. >> and remember that '29 john deere, the one that belonged to alex's great-grandfather? that very first one that dave rescued from the junk pile? so, this is it? >> this one's it. >> in his will, dave hawkins sets that one aside for alex. perhaps it will be the seed that grows into another grand collection, just like his grandpa's. >> living out here on the farm is good. you always get to walk somewhat in his footsteps, day in and day out. he's still here a little bit for me. people that grew up on farms, that's your lifestyle. you breathe and die farming. >> i couldn't help but notice alex's pride, not just in that machine, not simply a strange

inheritance that turned out to be quite valuable, but rather in the way of life that links him to those who came before him on this land and the determination of dave hawkins' heirs to keep his legacy together for at least one more generation. we learned one other story about dave hawkins from his family. he never spent time with his tractors without having one of his children or grandchildren alongside. a completely positive person -- that's how they described him. so positive that he'd answer the phone "good morning," whether it was morning or night. in fact, after he passed, they had t-shirts made that said "good morning" with "gramps" on the sleeve to wear their first christmas without dave. thanks so much for joining us for "strange inheritance." i'm jamie colby. remember -- you can't take it with you. do you have a strange inheritance story you'd like to

share with us? we'd love to hear it. send me an e-mail or go to our website, strangeinheritance.com. >> found in grandpa's attic... >> it was a dirty, dusty old box. and then it's like, "wow. i don't know what it is." >> ...a discovery that will make the baseball world flip. >> you've got honus wagner, ty cobb, cy young, christy mathewson. >> i'm thinking to myself, "oh, my god. i have $1 million sitting in a chair." >> but is it almost too much of a good thing? >> it certainly changes the market in a negative way. >> i'm jamie colby, and today, i'm in northwest ohio, on the edge of an area called the great black swamp.

i'm here to meet a family who's lived here for more than a 100 years. so when they unearthed their strange inheritance, they give it the code name -- "the black swamp find." >> i'm karl kissner. in 2011, my cousins and i inherited the family home from our aunt. she had left us a note -- we would find things in this home that we never knew existed. >> karl, a 54-year-old restaurant owner, has invited me to the family home in the small town of defiance, ohio. karl? hi. i'm jamie. how are you? >> very good. pleasure to meet you. >> nice to meet you, too. thanks for having me. is this the family home? >> this is grandma's home. come on in. i'll show you around. >> the house first came into karl's family in 1909. >> neat old place, but needs a little tlc. >> are you saying be careful? >> yes. >> okay.

in 2012, karl and his cousins start the daunting task of cleaning out a home that's been lived in for more than a century. after several weeks of sorting through the house, only the attic remains. karl and his cousin, karla, decide to tackle the project. >> ladies first. >> oh, my! look at this place. the attic is empty now, but not that day in 2012. karl and karla walk in to find a century's worth of dusty boxes and family heirlooms. and literally filled to the rafters. >> filled to the rafters, all the way up to about here and just a path down through the middle. >> after several hours, they uncover a box hugging the back wall. it contains something the two cousins have never seen before. >> it was a dirty, dusty old box, and i opened it up. and then it's like, "wow. there's -- i don't know what it is." >> the cousins see what appear

to be small cardboard photos tightly wrapped in twine. they recognize some pretty familiar faces. >> we're both looking at it. it's baseball players -- cy young, ty cobb, wagner -- but they're not baseball cards, not to us. we get one out and we look at the back, and they look like baseball cards, just miniaturized, no stats, no who made it, no nothing. >> how many are we talking about? >> hundreds. [ laughs ] >> amazing. so, you see the box. you take them out. what do you and karla say? >> actually, we set them on a dresser in the hallway and dove back into the attic >> but soon, karl starts to ponder where the strange cards may have come from. were they something aunt jean collected off a cereal box? or maybe they go all the way back to his grandfather, carl hench. >> he's a german immigrant and he works his way down through chicago and towards the ohio valley. >> he's chasing the american

dream -- to own a home and start a business. carl's a butcher by trade, and by 1905, he's scraped together enough to open his own shop here in defiance -- the carl hench meat market. along with meats and sausages, he sells candies and other grocery items. was he successful in his shop? >> very successful as a butcher in town, very well-known. >> in 1909, he marries his love, jennie. they start a family and buy that dream home. by now, baseball has long established itself as the national pastime, and for decades, various companies have used baseball cards to sell their products. >> the first nationally circulated cards came inside packages of tobacco in the late 1880s and was actually one of the first opportunities for the average citizen to own a real photo. >> candy companies jump into the game, too. the so-called "caramel cards" help sell the sweets and the top players of the day.

>> you've got honus wagner ty cobb, cy young, christy mathewson. >> children love the candy, but the cards even more. >> kids did what kids do. they played with them. they traded them. there's card-flipping games that they did with them. >> all karl and karla know at this point is that the cards may have come from their grandfather's store. >> our guess is that he would have given them away as promotional items, and like any good businessman, when you got leftovers, you save them for the next promotion. >> beyond that, karl isn't sure what they have in the box, but he tells his cousin he'll find out. the box sits on that dresser for a few days and almost gets thrown out several times before karl brings it to his restaurant to research the cards online. after a few days, he has some leads. >> i was looking at a 1909 caramel card and i'm going, "okay, it's not identical, but this is too close, and they've

got an estimated value on this card --" >> of? >> around $15,000. >> karl discovers that a similar ty cobb card, identified as a 1910 caramel card, recently sold for $40,000. >> and i got a box full of them, and they're pristine. >> that's amazing. you're sitting on a bundle of money. >> yeah. at that point the, the heart is starting to race, and i'm thinking to myself, "oh, my god. i have $1 million sitting in a chair." >> a lot more than that... if, that is, karl can confirm his cards are real. >> you're a little skeptical, but you're always looking forward to that one phone call that turns out to be gold. >> that's next. >> but first, our "strange inheritance" quiz question.

the answer when we return. ♪ limu emu & doug look limu. a civilian buying a new car. let's go. limu's right. liberty mutual can save you money by customizing your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. oh... yeah, i've been a customer for years. huh... only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

i want some more what's he doin? but, he can't look at him! it's just not done!

please sir. i want some more more? more? more? more? please sir he has asked for... thank you what? well he did say please sir yes he did and, thank you yeah. and thank you he's a wonderful boy (laugh) a delightful boy (all boys): thank you, thank you, thank you. >> it's "c," the 1984 donruss don mattingly. he didn't have the hall of fame career some predicted, but mattingly's cards remain popular. >> while the grandchildren of

carl and jennie hench are cleaning out the century-old family home in northwest ohio, they find a dust-covered box containing what appear to be vintage baseball cards. >> i had went to some of the auction sites. i'm seeing a ty cobb for $40,000. and i'm looking at the ty cobb that i have, going, "ooh! mine's better." >> the box karl found in the attic not only contains cobb, known as "the georgia peach," but all the greats of the era. and it's not just one of each player -- it's dozens. in all there, are 800 cards, most in pristine condition. >> it kind takes it out of a scope and a realm that you just -- you're not quite sure how to handle it. >> step one -- find out if the cards are real. karl reaches out to vintage-sports-cards expert peter calderon in dallas. >> i received a phone call, which was very cryptic.

he didn't want to go into any details. on a daily basis, we receive phone calls from people who find cards. it's always reprints. >> peter tells karl to text some photos of the cards, and he'll take a look when he gets a chance. >> when i got that first picture, the first thing i thought of, "this is gonna be filed in a too-good-to-be-true folder," but they looked amazing, and i saw nothing about them that suggested they weren't real. so, i definitely -- the next plan was -- we talked about him sending me some sample of the cards. >> karl overnights eight cards to peter, with a note attached, saying, "call me before you open." when the box arrives at heritage auctions in dallas... >> i gave him a call, had him on the phone. >> and there's that moment of silence that feels like 10 minutes, but it's actually a matter of seconds. >> i opened up the box and i pulled out a large plastic holder. >> and then there's the, "oh [bleep] >> i was just floored, because i

had no idea what a 100-year-old baseball card looked like brand-new. >> well, at that moment, i pretty much know that, "yeah, these are real." >> karl has one more bombshell. >> so, his next question is, "do you have any more?" "yes. hundreds." >> i would have been happy if it was just the eight cards. there was when you realized, "this is the find of a lifetime." >> karl dubs the cards the "black swamp find," after the nickname for this section of northwest ohio. they're quickly shipped to dallas on an armored truck and locked in the safety of a vault. the next step is to get each card officially graded on a scale of 1 to 10. karl goes with professional sports authenticator. i meet up with joe orlando, president of psa, at the national sports collectors

convention for a crash course in grading baseball cards. why is this one only a 1? babe ruth cannot be just a 1. >> so, if you look at the card, you can see all of the defects. there's surface wear, multiple creases throughout the card. this is about as low as it can get. >> so, this one is higher. this is 8. is that considered mint? >> this is considered almost mint. but when you look really, really close, you can see very little, tiny white pieces of wear on each corner. and that's the difference between an 8, a 9, or a 10. >> those tiny imperfections can make a difference of thousands of dollars. >> if this is a psa 8, it's worth roughly, you know, $100 or so. if it were a 9, it's worth probably, you know, north of $1,000. and if it's a 10, it's worth north of $5,000. >> so, what about the black swamp find? do karl's cards make the grade? what was your reaction when you saw the first cards? >> it was just -- it was mind-blowing.

>> before the black swamp find, the highest grade psa ever gave to a card in that series was a 7. karl's cards beat that in their first at-bat. >> it was a ty cobb and it graded a psa mint 9. little did we know that there were 15 more ty cobb 9s and, of course, hundreds of high-grade 8s, 9s, and even 10s in the set. >> sounds pretty good, right? not so fast. the collection doubles the known population of this type of card, and the unprecedented size and quality of the find could crash the baseball-card-collectors market. will karl's inheritance end up being too much of a good thing? >> if you were to flood the market with all of this at one time, it would certainly diminish the value of the entire find. >> that's next. >> here's another quiz question for you.

the answer in a moment.

>> it's "b," $517,000 -- for a 1914 baltimore news ruth rookie card, sold in 2008. >> in 2012, in defiance, ohio, karl kissner discovers 800 vintage baseball cards in the attic of his old family home. most of the century-old cards remain in near-mint condition, which is rare among cards even half their age. before the collecting craze in

the 1980s, cards were simply fun toys to be used in bike-wheel spokes or flipping games, like this one. so, i'm gonna toss a card, and it'll land either picture or stats. you're gonna toss a card. if you match my card, you get to keep my card and your card. if you don't, i get to go home with your cards. >> okay, let's do this. >> all right? here it goes. stats. >> stats up. >> picture. i'm a winner. >> you're a winner. >> fortunately for karl, his grandfather wasn't interested in such games, and the collection should easily be worth millions... if they play their cards right. you see, selling the so-called "black swamp find" all at once could flood the market and severely drive prices down. >> because of the size of the collection and the quantity involved, there was a lot of concern about the value. if there was one of each player,

that would have been ideal. >> so heritage auctions proposes a series of separate sales to maximize the family's take. >> we decided the best way to do it is to take your time, sell them by the set over a number of years. >> karl runs the estate on behalf of the 20 grandchildren and divides the cards up into equal sets. each family member can either join a consortium to sell the cards or keep his share as a family heirloom. did anyone keep the cards? >> yes, yes. >> really? >> some of them did. >> but most family members agree to team up and sell the cards gradually. peter calderon tallies the numbers and comes up with what karl might expect, if all goes right -- nearly $3 million. for karl, it's a staggering sum. >> we're stunned. this is something we almost threw in a dumpster. >> in august 2012, in baltimore's camden yards

ballpark, they put the first 37 cards up for auction. >> they were the best of the best. they were the best-graded cards out of all of them that we had graded. >> ladies and gentlemen, let's do lot 001. it's the 1910 e98. >> in bidding that's fast and furious, the family sees one lot of nine cards go for $40,000, a second lot of 27 cards goes for $286,000, but the real clean-up hitter of the night, the only psa gem-mint-10-graded card of hall of famer honus wagner in existence. auctioneer: >> $240,000 solid. i have the cut bid. anyone else? done! $240,000! >> we're flabbergasted. this is a wonderful gift from our grandfather and from our aunt. what more can you ask for? >> the family's total for the night?

it's a very promising start, but they've also sold their best cards. does the black swamp find still have enough gas in it to get the hench grandchildren to their $3 million goal? that's next. what's going on up here? can't see what it is yet. what is that? that's a blazer? that's a chevy blazer? aww, this is dope. this thing is beautiful. i love the lights. oh man, it's got a mean face on it. it looks like a piece of candy. look at the interior. this is nice. this is my sexy mom car. i would feel like a cool dad. it's just really chic. i love this thing. it's gorgeous. i would pull up in this in a heartbeat. i want one of these. that is sharp. the all-new chevy blazer. speaks for itself. i don't know who they got to design this but give them a cookie and a star.

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fair housing is your right. use it. >> now back to "strange inheritance." >> karl kissner and his family are slowly selling off their strange inheritance -- 800 rare vintage baseball cards. the collection is valued at around $3 million. an initial auction of their best cards has already brought in $566,000, and the family still has plenty of high-grade hall of famers to sell. in october 2012 and may 2013, two online auctions -- with some help from legendary manager connie mack -- rack up $419,000. then, in august 2013, in

chicago, a psa 8 "miner" brown pitches in to help the team ring up another 228k. and in the big apple, in february 2014, a psa 8.5 johnny evers and mint 9 frank chance assist in a $300,000 haul. two more online auctions raise the total to $1.7 million. on july 31, 2014, i join karl and his cousin karla at the 35th national sports collectors convention in cleveland for their latest auction. >> we've got a fired-up crowd here tonight. what do you think, karl? >> it's exciting watching everybody and listening to the on-floor bids. you just -- you get into the feel of it, the mood of it. >> bid what you want. the last person standing with their hand in the air gets the item. >> apparently, people have money. >> apparently. [ both laugh ] >> and at the end of tonight,

you may, too. up first for karl and karla tonight, the georgia peach. >> this is a 1910 e98 set of 30 ty cobb, black swamp find, psa mint 9. are you serious? yes, we are serious. $26,000. who's bidding 28 grand? $27,000 -- heritage live. $28,300. fair warning, anybody else. >> when the auctioneer kind of slows down like that, you know it's getting good. >> yeah. >> sold at at $28,000. >> congratulations, guys. that's awesome! >> give me five on that. yeah! >> now stepping up to the plate, a psa mint 9 honus wagner. >> go, honus. >> yay! come on. yeah, come on, honus, baby. >> 32 1/2 on heritage live. another bidder just jumped on. let's sell this thing. $33,000. >> the bidding ends at $33,750. >> yeah! very good! all right! >> their weekend earnings, including online sales, total $133,000, lifting the

black swamp find total to $1.85 million. [ cheers and applause ] are you satisfied tonight? >> i'm ecstatic. and you know the person that's buying it wants it and appreciates it, and he's gonna add it to his collection. and maybe he'll pass it on to his family. >> a box stored and forgotten in the attic for over a century eventually changes a collectibles industry forever, along with the lives of the 20 hench grandchildren. so far, the black swamp find is like a slugger with 40 home runs at the all-star break -- well on track to surpass the goal set by peter calderon. >> there's still 10 more sets to sell, and we're still averaging almost $200,000 a set. >> and in the card-collecting market, the game's never over till the last man is out. what would grandpa say? >> i think grandpa would be stunned, amazed, and pleased. i'm sure that he is, 'cause i'm sure that the whole family is up

there looking down with big smiles on their faces. >> was the black swamp find nearly history's most epic case of some guy's mom throwing out his baseball-card collection? karl thinks so. when he made his big discovery in the attic, he spied several wrinkled and grimy cards strewn among the rafters and the floorboards. karl believes that they went flying during one of his grandma jennie's cleaning purges, when she'd pitch boxes of junk right out the attic window into a big mound below. thank goodness she never got hold of that one box in the corner. i'm jamie colby for "strange inheritance." thank you so much for joining us. and remember, you can't take it with you. do you have a "strange inheritance" story

you'd like to share with us? we'd love to hear it. send me an e-mail, or go to our website, strangeinheritance.com. will too. maria bartiromo, "wall street" is next. maria: happy weekend everybody welcome to the program. the week that was. i am a real -- maria bartiromo. we have a special guest and then later on we are talking skills training with john sexton to talk about the growing challenge for families. and this week uber had as much anticipated ipo. they began trading on friday. that was on the low end of the