vein m-- ( laughs ) simon, tell me the truth. a little bit longer. 11 minutes, start to finish. how long does it take you? an hour? >> a "strange inheritance" mystery... >> i thought, "what? what is going on?" >> ...a norman rockwell shocker. >> is it a fake? >> well, this was the question that was in everyone's mind. >> oh, if these walls could talk. >> i want you to put your hands like this, and we're going to pull it toward me. >> aah! >> there you go. >> oh, my goodness. >> keep going. ♪ [ door creaks ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ] [ bird caws ] ♪ >> i'm jamie colby in arlington, vermont, once home to norman rockwell. it was also home to a man who left his children a multimillion-dollar conundrum

involving the iconic american painter and illustrator. >> my name is don trachte jr. my siblings and i were supposed to inherit from our father one of norman rockwell's best-known paintings. what we got was a mystery. what the heck had dad done with it? >> hi, don. i'm jamie. >> hi, jamie. >> so nice to meet you. so great to be in vermont. what is this place? >> this was my dad's studio. >> back in the 1950s, don's dad, donald trachte sr., is a syndicated cartoonist working on the popular strip "henry," which features a bald-headed boy, simply illustrated with clean lines and minimal backgrounds. can you support a wife and four kids drawing "henry"? >> it was a good living. my dad had to come up with all the gags... >> really? >> ...and he would have a sheet of paper next to his drawing board, and usually, he'd come up with about three

or four gags at a time. >> were they gags about you kids? >> well, sometimes they were. >> so life for the trachtes is pretty good here in arlington, a picturesque artist's colony with a world-famous resident -- norman rockwell. how did your dad meet norman rockwell? >> when we arrived in arlington, we met a realtor, and if you showed artistic ability, he probably dragged you down to norman rockwell's house. >> did rockwell come to your father's studio to visit? >> he did make a couple visits but very short. you know, norman worked seven days a week, and he just was on high gear. >> don sr. even poses for rockwell, playing the principal in one of his famous saturday evening post covers. and don jr. gets his shot as a rockwell model when his dad volunteers him to pose for this photo from which rockwell paints a child life magazine cover. is that you? >> that's me.

>> you're holding hands with the girl... >> yes. >> ...which you did not like yet. >> well, i may have liked her. i was just embarrassed. >> don sr. and rockwell develop a pretty close professional acquaintance. they share tricks of the trade and the same sense of humor. here's the cartoonist with the great painter wearing matching bow ties and french berets. how close did he get to rockwell? did he look over his shoulder while he was painting? >> my dad had a great sense of observation, and when he watched rockwell, he would look at his paints, his paintbrush, what kind of varnish. my dad just worshipped norman rockwell. >> they keep in touch after rockwell leaves vermont for stockbridge, massachusetts, in 1953, where he continues to paint some of the most iconic images of small-town america.

>> all the materials that you see here were actual rockwell tools. he was very neat. you can see how clean his brushes were. >> oh, my. stephanie plunkett is chief curator of the rockwell museum in stockbridge, which includes the painter's barn studio. i see the chair. it would mean a lot to sit in norman rockwell's. please? >> jamie, we would be honored to have you sit in rockwell's chair. >> oh, my gosh. this is amazing. norman rockwell painted in this chair. oh, my gosh. it's from this chair in 1954 that rockwell paints "breaking home ties," which will become one of the most popular saturday evening post covers of all time. what is the story in this? what did he want people to know? >> his idea was, this is a young man from a very rural community in america, and he is leaving home for the first time to go to college.

his father is a rancher, and he is slumped. he's holding two hats... >> oh. >> ...which is such a beautiful memento. he's holding his own and his son's. and the collie dog is feeling... >> sad. and dad is, what, reflecting on the end of an era maybe? his son won't be a rancher with him? >> very much so. >> classic rockwell -- a single scene tells a poignant story of the joys and laments, worries and hopes, sweet and bittersweet rhythms in the life of every american family, like the trachtes. as the years go by, "henry" gives elizabeth and don sr. the wherewithal to acquire their own impressive little art collection. it's in 1962 when they see "breaking home ties" for sale at a vermont art gallery. they buy it for $900. was there anything particular about the subject

of this painting that you think your father became particularly attracted to? >> well, two things. one is the character -- the old man sitting on the running board was our neighbor floyd, and my dad thought the world of floyd, as all of us did. i think also that the painting told a story. it's a separation of your children from home, so i think it's that emotional connection that probably grabbed my dad. >> do you think it could be you leaving? >> it could be. perhaps at that time, my father was experiencing the separation of all of his kids, and maybe that was it. >> did your dad know it was a good investment? >> you know, i don't think he bought it as an investment at all. he just thought it was such a wonderful piece of art. why would you even sell anything like that? >> of course, it is a good investment. just 2 years after he purchased it, don sr. receives an offer in 1964 for 35,000 bucks.

that's a lot of money then. >> it was an extraordinary amount of money. a lot of us would've just sold right then and there, wouldn't we? >> yes. >> but not my dad, not interested. i actually have a letter right here. take a look at that. >> from norman rockwell, stockbridge, mass. "dear don, you must be crazy not to sell it, but i adore your loyalty. as ever, norman." ha! >> that's it. >> he's saying you should've sold. >> that's right. >> "breaking home ties" remains on display in the trachtes' vermont home, but as more time passes, life for the trachtes resembles less and less a norman rockwell painting. when they divorced, i mean, how do you cut a rockwell in half? >> that's a terrible thought, isn't it? >> here's a "strange inheritance" quiz question. why did norman rockwell keep a mirror in his studio -- to reflect sunlight onto his paintings,

to watch himself while he worked or to look at his painting in reverse? the answer after the break. i switched to liberty mutual, because they let me customize my insurance. and as a fitness junkie, i customize everything, like my bike, and my calves. liberty mutual customizes your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

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♪ >> so why did norman rockwell keep a mirror in his studio? it was to look at his paintings in reverse. he believed that if the picture was also engaging when looked at backwards, it was sure to be a winner.

>> after purchasing the norman rockwell painting called "breaking home ties" for $900 in 1962, don and elizabeth trachte display it in their vermont home. don sr. continues drawing the comic "henry" but spends more and more time painting, too. >> he did a lot of painting later in his life. he did western art. he did what i call cape cod art. >> he's pretty good. >> he was pretty good. >> but he's increasingly withdrawn and estranged from elizabeth. at some point, do you get an inkling that your parents might divorce? >> i think it was just time for them to part ways. >> and they do in 1973 after 32 years of marriage. so what to do with the art they collected together? they have seven relatively

valuable paintings from lesser-known artists in addition to that famous rockwell. when they divorced, was there an issue about... i mean, how do you cut a rockwell in half? >> well, that's a terrible thought, isn't it? >> the couple agree to give the eight paintings to their children -- their inheritance to be received upon their parents' deaths. until then, elizabeth keeps five and don three, including the rockwell. by the way, it jumps in value when rockwell dies in 1978 at age 84. don sr. builds this home and art studio in the woods. he draws the sunday edition of "henry" until it's canceled in 1994. by 2001, now in his 80s, health problems force don sr. to lay down his pencils and brushes altogether, and he begins splitting his time living with his children.

>> we just wanted him kind of with us and safe. >> with their father's house empty and cold, don jr. and his siblings worry about their strange inheritance -- the famous painting on the wall that's now possibly worth millions. looking for a safer place, they call the norman rockwell museum and chief curator stephanie plunkett. >> they say, "would you like to exhibit it?" and we, of course, were thrilled because this is actually an icon in rockwell's career. >> did you tell dad? >> yes, and he never said anything. he just nodded. >> ever take dad to see it? >> oh, no. withing a year or two, he went into assisted living. i just thought it was a lot for him to absorb, so i never took him down to the museum. i said, "why put him through that?" >> don trachte sr. passes away in 2005 at age 89, but just as his four children formally inherit

"breaking home ties," they start hearing whispers that the famous painting just might be a fake. >> one art expert walked in and said, "it's a third-rate replica," and i thought, "what?" i was concerned, like, what is going on? >> here's another quiz question. to model the girl's black eye in this painting, did rockwell put a wanted ad in the paper for a kid with a shiner, visit a boxing gym or paint his own black eye? the answer when we return. hey, who are you? oh, hey jeff, i'm a car thief... what?! i'm here to steal your car because, well, that's my job. what? what??

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♪ >> so how did rockwell model the girl's black eye in this painting? it's a. he placed a wanted ad

offering 5 bucks for a kid with a black eye. he found this little guy, tommy forestburg, of worcester, mass, who'd taken a tumble down the stairs. >> don trachte jr. and his siblings face a multimillion-dollar mystery. they've loaned this painting, norman rockwell's "breaking home ties," to the rockwell museum in stockbridge, massachusetts, but now they're hearing questions about the authenticity of their strange inheritance. >> there were some doubts. in fact, one art expert walked in and said, "this is a fake." >> even don jr. sees subtle differences between his painting and the 1954 saturday evening post cover. >> look in the area of the boy's face, and look at those two side by side. >> well, his face is much fuller. >> yeah. there's some differences, aren't there? and that's primarily... >> eyes are different. >> the eyes are different.

>> mm-hmm. >> and the mouth is different. >> mm-hmm. but there must be an innocent explanation. the museum believes the painting was probably subjected to a subpar touch-up job. that's why, when don and his siblings decide it might be time to sell "breaking home ties," their comfortable reaching out to sotheby's in new york. sotheby's appraiser peter rathbone visits the rockwell museum to see it. like some other experts, he's perplexed. >> it just wasn't as well painted as one had sort of become accustomed to seeing in rockwell's work. but here you are in the norman rockwell museum, where the painting has been on public display for, you know, several years. >> rathbone believes the painting could bring between $3 and $5 million at auction. >> in 2002, we sold the iconic "rosie the riveter" that brought just under $5 million,

so we were obviously looking at a very bullish market for rockwell's work. >> but before they test the market, the family decides to test the painting. they send it to the williamstown art conservation center in 2006 for a detailed analysis. the family faces three possible outcomes. it's the original rockwell that's been touched up, or a second version of the painting by rockwell himself, or it could be a forgery. having them take a look could take the millions that you and your siblings are entitled to and throwing it out the window if it doesn't go your way. >> it could, but we were so adamant that we had to understand what is wrong with this painting? now, my best hope was that we'd actually find that this was the original painting, but someone had repainted or painted over parts of the painting. >> no dice. it turns out the painting

is a completely original and pretty well-executed fake! >> that's when, you know, the air was going out of the balloon. >> disheartened, confused and a lot poorer than they were days before, don jr. and his brother david go to their late father's studio in hopes of finding anything that could solve the mystery. what happened? >> when dave walked over here, he noticed this little crack. push against that. oh. uh-oh. >> wait a minute. it moves. >> it moves. we said, "what the heck is going on here?" >> what's your "strange inheritance" story? we'd love to tell it. send me an e-mail or go to our website, strangeinheritance.com. -and...that's your basic three-point turn. -[ scoffs ] if you say so. ♪ -i'm sorry? -what teach here isn't telling you is that snapshot rewards safe drivers with discounts on car insurance. -what?

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♪ >> now back to "strange inheritance." >> don trachte jr. is in the middle of a "strange inheritance" enigma. this norman rockwell painting,

"breaking home ties," has been in his family for more than 40 years, but now it's revealed that they're holding on to a fake. what gives? don and his brother david search their late father's vermont art studio. >> my brother walked over to this space right here. he noticed this little crack, and he pushed against the wall. push against that, and you see? oh. uh-oh. >> wait a minute. it moves. >> it moves, and we said, "what the heck is going on here?" >> don and his brother snap these pictures as they begin to dismantle pieces of their father's bookcase. >> now, i want you to come over here. i want you to put your hands like this, and we're going to pull it toward me. >> ah! >> there you go. >> oh, my goodness. >> keep going. >> behind this secret sliding wall, don and his brother discover what they didn't even know they were looking for -- the original rockwell painting,

"breaking home ties." did you scream, cry, hug each other? >> we didn't say a word. >> but they must say something to the curator at the rockwell museum. >> i received a call from don jr., and he said, "i have good news, and i have bad news. the good news is i know where the original is, and the bad news is that it's not at the museum." >> did word get out that the museum had a forgery? >> yes. as a matter of fact, it was a challenging moment for sure. >> the "strange inheritance" story makes headlines, which is actually good news to peter rathbone at sotheby's. >> we adjusted our estimate slightly from $3 to $5 million up to $4 to $6 million. this is the rockwell property of the trachte family collection. >> "breaking home ties" goes up for auction in new york city in november 2006. you remember the first bid?

>> i do. it was, "let's start the auction process at $4 million." >> i have $4 million, $4,100,000. >> so the bidding then continues. now we're at $6 million, $7,800,000, $8 million, $9 million. >> oh, my gosh. >> and then it started to go faster. >> ten million. i have 11 million. twelve million dollars. >> and then, all of a sudden, it stopped. >> all done? sold for $13,750,000. >> add to that the buyer's premium and the grand total hits $15.4 million -- at the time, a new world record for a rockwell painting. it's a happy ending for the trachte kids, even if the mystery is never to be completely solved. don can only deduce that sometime before his parent's divorce, his father was the one who copied the rockwell. accepted by a museum that just has norman rockwells. >> that's right.

>> did you know he was that good? >> no, i didn't. >> don is unsure of the answer to the bigger question. why did dad do this? >> i think he just wanted to protect this, and people would come up to me and they came up with all the "what ifs." what if the house burned down? what if it got bulldozed? what if we sold it? but i didn't have ready answers. >> all don is certain of is that his father wasn't trying to defraud anyone, much less his mother. he didn't have a war with my mom like a lot of people suspect. >> you had to let mom know. how did she react? >> she put her hands on her face like this and listened, and she said, "this doesn't surprise me." >> really? >> yeah. she was 89 at the time. >> she took it well. >> she took it well. >> by the way, remember those other pricey paintings? don sr. kept those originals hidden behind his secret wall, too. so he painted duplicates.

>> he painted eight duplicates. >> i decide to bounce off don my own theory about his cartoonist father. did your dad want to be norman rockwell? >> i don't think he wanted to be norman rockwell. i think he just wanted to absorb and be as, perhaps, as great as norman rockwell in his own right. >> and in a way, don is now helping make that happen. you're surely asking, "where is the fake rockwell now?" well, it's on its own museum tour. that's right. don jr. is showcasing his father's amazing rockwell duplicate along with the seven other paintings he copied, all nearly indistinguishable from the originals. the exhibit places the real and the duplicate painting side by side. imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. i'm jamie colby. thanks so much for watching

"strange inheritance," and remember -- you can't take it with you. >> she's a jet-setter in the golden age of travel... >> pan am flight attendants were iconic. >> did she fit the bill? >> i think shecreatedthe bill. >> ...bringing back these from around the globe. >> indonesian, african, chinese -- they came from everywhere. i thought she was a smuggler, which made it even more exciting. >> what?! >> are they just silly trinkets... >> is there a big market for beads? >> there's a big market for beads. >> this is the real deal? >> this is the real deal. >> ...or historical treasures worth a mint? >>thedalai lama? >> yes. [ gavel bangs ] >> bidder 561 is for $11,000. [ door creaks ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ]

[ bird caws ] ♪ >> i'm jamie colby, thrilled to be on my latest adventure, here in san francisco. the woman at the heart of this story also loved to travel and took home the smallest of souvenirs from every place she visited. those tiny keepsakes could add up to abigpayday for her heirs. >> my name is lise mousel. for over half a century, my glamorous aunt naomi traveled the world in style. she always had a surprise for us, but the biggest one came after she passed away. [ knock on door ] >> i want to know more about those surprises, so i meet lise and her mother, carol, at the condo where aunt naomi lived for more than 30 years. lise now calls the place home. oh, i love the way it's decorated -- minimalist.

>> it wasn't always true, when naomi was here. >> really? >> yes, there was stuff everywhere. there was furniture and there were antiquities, and then there were the beads. >> beads everywhere. >> beads? >> beads. >> naomi lindstrom's story begins in a tiny logging town in british columbia, canada, where she's born in 1924. sister carol comes along nine years later. were you rich or poor? >> we were poor. naomi used to love to tell the story that if we needed a grouse for dinner, she'd take the shotgun and go and get it. >> but the backwoods life is too small for naomi's big dreams. by 18, she's a pre-med college student in seattle. >> she had one quarter left, but it was summer, and she saw a sign from united airlines saying "we're hiring." she thought, "i'll do it for the summer." >> what do you think it was about that sign asking for people to sign up to be stewardesses that attracted her?

>> it was the travel. she always was an adventurer. >> naomi instantly falls in love with the globe-trotting lifestyle. she was hooked. >> she was hooked, and she never regretted it. >> in 1952, she jumps ship to pan-american airways -- not just the most prestigious of carriers, but a cultural icon. pan am was founded in 1927 as america's first international airline. an innovator in the use of jet aircraft, pan am becomes legendary for its luxury, panache, and above all, its classy, gorgeous stewardesses. pan am flight attendants were iconic. did she fit the bill, lise? >> oh, good lord, i think she createdthe bill, actually. >> how'd she look in her uniform? >> oh, she looked gorgeous. she looked gorgeous until she retired.

>> the stew's life gives naomi the chance to see the world. during layovers, while her stewardess friends sit by the pool, naomi immerses herself in the local culture, which leads to a new hobby -- beads. that's how she befriends jamey allen -- over their shared love of the small mementos. what do you think naomi's fascination with beads was? >> she liked the fact that beads put you in touch with the culture that you admire or are interested in. >> in some cultures, they're money. in others, magical charms. for naomi, they slide easily into a suitcase and through customs. >> they are mankind's oldest portable art form. >> naomi soon identifies the perfect way to add to her bead count -- archaeological dig sites. and her $10 per diem from pan am comes in quite handy. >> at that particular point in time, the archeologists weren't

interested in beads, and for $10, she could get a lot of beads. >> what if she needed the money to eat? >> oh, she knew that she could find somebody who'd buy dinner for her. >> naomi's tiny keepsakes soon include glass beads from china, jasper from south america, stone beads from the middle east, and countless more from around the world. these red coral beads come from india. naomi gets them in 1959 after striking up an acquaintance with a famous passenger. filmmaker and broadcaster lowell thomas is on a mission trip to aid the dalai lama, and naomi tags along. thedalai lama? >> yes. naomi was working in first class. she met lowell thomas. he was looking for somebody who could buy, inexpensively, all the supplies to build houses for the refugees. >> that is amazing. over the decades, naomi

stockpiles her beads in her san francisco condo. >> i thought she was a smuggler, which made it even more exciting. >> what?! >> she was this kind of bigger-than-life, independent woman who did exactly what she wanted, and i thought she was magic. >> she never married? >> no, she never did. she had many proposals. she had so many diamond rings that she took all the diamonds and made one band. >> from different guys? >> all from different guys. >> by the early 2000s, naomi is long retired from pan am, and her world travels have come to an end. but even into her 80s, she's still feisty as ever. >> she was probably about a year beyond needing full-time care, but she kept sending her caregivers home. so mom and i decided that the best thing to do was to have a family member live with her, and i was portable at the time and eager because i loved her so much. >> lise lives with her aunt naomi for the next year. then, in march 2014, just weeks

shy of her 90th birthday, naomi peacefully passes away. she names her sister carol her sole heir, who, in turn, makes lise trustee of the estate. that's when they learn aunt naomi's little trinkets are a lot more than that. >> well, we were all astounded. we still were not prepared for what we found. >> i almost had a heart attack. >> that's next. >> but first, our "strange inheritance" quiz question. which of the following was not a requirement for pan am stewardesses during the golden age of flying? the answer when we return. i switched to miralax for my constipation. stimulant laxatives forcefully stimulate the nerves in your colon.

miralax works with the water in your body to unblock your system naturally. and it doesn't cause bloating, cramping, gas, or sudden urgency. miralax. look for the pink cap. thanks for the ride-along, captain! i've never been in one of these before, even though geico has been- ohhh. ooh ohh here we go, here we go. you got cut off there, what were you saying? oooo. oh no no. maybe that geico has been proudly serving the military for over 75 years? is that what you wanted to say? mhmmm. i have to say, you seemed a lot chattier on tv. geico. proudly serving the military for over 75 years. you ok back there, buddy?

>> it's "b." pan am did not require applicants to have traveled abroad. the three other answers really were requirements. >> pan am stewardess naomi lindstrom circumnavigates the world, amassing a huge assortment of beads from everywhere she goes. after her death in 2014, her

sister and niece are rummaging through her san francisco condo, wondering whether their inheritance is filled with treasures or trash. >> i was desperate to get things cleared out. it was overwhelming because i didn't have a clue what i was looking at. >> do you take a garbage bag and just get started? >> it was tempting. it was really tempting. there was drawer upon drawer upon drawer. and when you opened them, every drawer was just overflowing. >> she converted closets into bead drawers. these are beautiful. >> it's not just loose beads stashed everywhere, but hundreds of bead necklaces. >> we probably spent the better part of two days just taking the necklaces out and laying them across the beds. >> the handmade pieces range from glamorous to exotic to simply bizarre. >> this is a necklace that naomi wore.

it's dogs' teeth. >> dog teeth -- that's a new one. thousands upon thousands of beads. it's simply overwhelming for carol. when you looked at all the beads, what was your first reaction? >> "wow. what have we gotten into?" >> but help's just a phone call away -- to naomi's friend and fellow bead enthusiast jamey allen. >> well, we were all astounded. we were not prepared for what we found. >> jamey's first step is to catalog the collection. >> jamey and i spent months together, going through drawers, with me helping him sort and saying, "jamey, what's this? jamey, what's this?" >> the beads may look alike to lise, but not to jamey's discerning eye. he's able to deduce a bead's cultural origin by studying its material, shape, color, and markings. for instance, the distinctive

reddish hue on this strand reveals its provenance. >> these beads were made in burma. >> how do you know? >> whereas most amber is yellow, burmese amber is more often red. so, you can determine a lot of things visually -- by the color, by the clarity, by the uniformity of the color. >> other hints help determine a bead's age -- erosion signs, texture, and rarity. another clue -- older beads typically have larger holes, due to the lack of sophisticated cutting tools. >> beads were made by hand, and they were made by artisans, and they were made one at a time, and they had a lot of skill and time invested in them. >> jamey's analysis yields a stunning conclusion -- many of naomi's beads are not only very old, but rare. ancient items include 17th century glass trading beads from venice and these amber ones from the chinese qing dynasty. >> they probably were originally

in a mandarin court necklace about 150 years ago. >> other beads, he tells them, are even older. there's west african quartz more than 1,000 years old, pre-columbian ceramic from peru, and afghani beads from the 3rd millennium b.c. are these museum-worthy? >> absolutely. there are many, many museum-worthy pieces in the lindstrom collection. >> i had no idea. i mean, to me, it's a bunch of beads. >> a bunch of beads that jamey says might be worth their weight in gold. >> a well-made bead from 3,000 years ago is a very valuable thing. >> but justhowvaluable? >> before i knew it, she was practically hyperventilating. >> i was just overtaken by the beauty of everything that she had. >> that's next. >> here's another quiz question for you.

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>> so, which of these beads is typically the most valuable? it's "c." imperial jade is a prized material symbolizing water and life. in 2014, a jade necklace sold in hong kong for more than $27 million. >> after the death of her glamorous aunt naomi, a retired pan am stewardess, lise mousel and her mother, carol, are astonished to learn the exotic details of naomi's vast bead collection. >> it spans about 5,000 years of history and everything from

indonesian, african, chinese, japanese, european. they came from everywhere. >> naomi also created one-of-a-kind necklaces from her tiny treasures -- beaded jewelry that now might be worth a small fortune. did you have any idea how much they were all worth? >> no. i knew nothing about beads. >> she finds out when she invites rhonda harness of michaan's auctions to naomi's san francisco condo. >> when i walked in the house, i was just overtaken by the beauty of everything that she had. you just don't see these items. the collection is phenomenal. >> it's immediately clear to rhonda that this is one of the top bead collections in america and deserves its own stand-alone auction -- which i'm previewing today, just hours before the big event. what are you wearing, to start? >> i'm wearing an ancient tibetan necklace of coral.

>> from what i understand, the piece you're wearing has an estimate of $30,000. >> that is correct. coral is so popular right now, and you just don't see it -- the size, the color, the quality. it's almost impossible to find. >> is there a big market for beads? >> there's a big market for beads. beads are the first jewelry that was ever worn. beads were worn before clothes were worn. >> they were also used as charms -- like this ancient tibetan dzi bead, said to bring good luck and ward off evil. i see people walking around new york city with evil eye bracelets. this is the real deal? >> this is the real deal. >> what would this little bead go for? >> well, we have it very reasonably priced at $1,500 to $2,000. this is an incredible necklace right here. they're ancient beads from afghanistan, and they're glass beads. >> its pre-sale estimate -- $3,000. this really caught my eye. >> it's pre-columbian, and it's

beautiful beads of crystal carnelian. very rare to find these. can i put this on you? >> please do. why wait? >> it looks like it was made for you. >> and it could be mine for $6k. rhonda tells me that memento from naomi's time helping the dalai lama should also attract attention. >> i have had so much interest in it. i feel this is going to do very well. >> the pre-sale estimate -- more than 10 grand. while this central asian necklace from 700 b.c. is appraised at $18,000. there's no telling what the entire cache will bring in. ready to find out? that's next. are you nervous? >> i'm terrified. >> with that, we will begin. >> i am hoping that i've done everything i could have done up to this point. >> $500 is bid. online at $500. >> what's your "strange inheritance" story? we'd love to tell it. send me an e-mail or go to our

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>> now back to "strange inheritance." >> $200 to start. do i have any takers for $200? $200 right there. $225 now. $225. do we go $250? >> in march 2016, the naomi lindstrom collection hits the auction block at michaan's in alameda, california. the treasure trove includes ancient beads and necklaces spanning more than 5,000 years of history that the pan am stewardess acquired from around the globe and bequeathed to her sister carol... like these ancient beads excavated in mali. >> these are at least 1,000 years old. >> wow. unfortunately, this day is gonna cost me some money. >> i'd say collect it now, because you'll never see it again. >> naomi would be standing there with her chest out, her head back, and a big smile on her face, saying, "yes, i did this." she'd be so proud.

she'd be thrilled. >> naomi felt all of these things were her babies. and today, we're looking for a lot of good homes. >> $475. >> $475 now. $475's the bid. go $500? >> the auction gets going. some of the pre-sale estimates are right on the button. >> lot number 4418 -- an ancient afghanistan glass bead necklace. >> those afghani glass beads i tried on... >> $3,000. [ cash register dings ] >> 4359, tibetan coral bead, gilded silver needle case necklace. and we'll start the bidding off on this at $6,000. >> $6,500. >> that necklace from naomi's time helping the dalai lama... >> bidder 561 is for $11,000. >> whoo! >> way to go. >> [ laughs ] >> whew! >> yeah. >> this is fun, isn't it? [ laughter ] >> it's even more fun when items go way above their appraisals. many do. remember that tiny tibetan spiritual bead priced at $1,500? >> and we'll start the bidding off on that at... >> this is the best one.

>> $1,500 is bid. $1,500, $1,600, $1,700, $1,800. >> $1,900. >> $1,900, $2,000 -- >> $2,250. >> $2,500. $2,500. now go $2,750s online. $3,000 the bid. we're holding at $3,000. on the floor with $3,000. >> $2,250. now go $2,500. $2,500. $3,500 is on the floor. $3,750s online. no advance. >> $4,000. >> $4,000 still bidding online. $4,250. now go $4,500. >> $4,500. >> $4,500 is bid. online at $4,500. [ gavel bangs ] sold online for $4,500. >> that's triple its pre-auction estimate. more big sales follow... >> chinese white jade necklace. and we'll start the bidding off on that at $1,000. >> ...like this chinese white jade necklace... [ gavel bangs ] >> $4,250. [ cash register dings ] >> ...and an ancient himalayan strand that earns $5,900. [ gavel bangs ] >> bidder 604 for $3,000. >> the auction goes on for more than five hours. >> last call -- $3,750.

>> nearly 300 lots, thousands of beads on the block. [ gavel banging ] in total, the auction earns more than 300,000 bucks. when you first looked at this collection and think, "ohhh! there's a lot of beads," and then you walk away with hundreds of thousands of dollars. that was an incredible gift from your aunt. >> oh, my gosh. it really was. and she'd be happy that people thought her things were interesting enough to buy them. >> and that may be just the beginning. many top-tier items that didn't hit their reserve will be re-offered down the line, like that ancient tibetan coral strand, the central asian stone necklace, and these mongolian beads. >> the plan is to market the heck out of it. and then we'll just hope that the right buyers are there on that particular day, looking. >> day of the auction, did it feel like naomi was there? >> shewas. >> excuse me? >> i had her ashes in my purse.

>> she went to the auction. >> absolutely. she wanted to be put in a lake in british columbia, and i called mom and said, "would it be okay with you if we kept half of her ashes out and took them with us?" and she said, "sure. why not?" i think it's the best memorial service we could have given her. >> a fitting tribute to the pan am stewardess and her precious keepsakes from a life adventurously lived. on $10 a day... >> $10 per diem. [ laughs ] >> so, if lise brought half of aunt naomi's ashes to the auction, what happened to them afterward? well, once they gave naomi one final day with her precious beads, they decided to scatter the rest in places dear to naomi's heart. some will go in the soil outside her condo, while others will be sprinkled from this balcony over the city san francisco that she loved so much. bon voyage, naomi. thanks so much for watching

"strange inheritance." i'm jamie colby. remember -- you can't take it with you. >> he was at the center of a scandal -- the national pastime, gambling, and gangsters. >> arnold rothstein gave them a little bit of money to, supposedly, throw the series. >> "shoeless" joe was arguably the best baseball player of all time. >> he's banned from the game... >> one weeping fan of his cried out, "say it isn't so!" >> ...and the fascination with his tale endures. >> shoeless joe's really part of pop culture. >> so why is his autograph one of the rarest in sports? >> he was virtually illiterate. >> he had a very hard time even writing an individual letter. >> he did. >> as far as we know it, there is only one known. >> one? >> just one. >> and it's this woman's strange inheritance. >> it started to dawn on me that this is a lot of money we're