>> a world-famous musician dies and leaves his daughters his prized instrument. >> his love, his treasure, his heart, his voice. >> it's more than 300 years old and could be worth many millions. but this strange inheritance is about more than money. it's about a european countess, a father's legacy, and a huge financial dilemma for his heirs. >> it was very clear to us that he did not want it to be hidden away. [ door creaks ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ] [ bird caws ] i'm jamie colby, and i'm on cape cod, massachusetts, heading

to the small town of wellfleet. i'm here to learn about a strange inheritance that shaped a family's life for half a century. >> my name is elena delbanco. in 2011, my sister and i inherited an extraordinary object from our father. this was my father's home for many years. he and my mother built it in 1955. >> elena's father was the virtuoso cellist bernard greenhouse, who died in 2011 at the age of 95. [ classical music plays ] greenhouse spent most of his career playing with the renowned beaux arts trio, which made its debut in 1955 and catapulted to fame. >> he was very warm and very charming but very involved with his work. and he traveled all the time as

he became more and more successful. >> as one of the world's premier cellists, bernard figured he should be playing one of the world's finest cellos. he began searching in europe for an instrument equal to his talent. >> he went to dealers and to instrument shops, and wherever he went, he said, "have you heard any rumors about great cellos?" >> in 1957, he found one in the west german city of aachen. your father came home with something he longed for, searched for. >> i was very young. but i knew that he had found something very important. >> very important, indeed. it was a stradivarius, crafted in italy around 1707 by the master of them all, antonio stradivari. it even has its own aristocratic title, "the countess of

stanlein." sound expensive? it was. >> it was a huge sum of money for us, for our family. and it made a huge difference in our lives to pay it off over many years. >> dealers estimate bernard paid around $100,000, an astronomical sum in the late 1950s, when the average american house sold for $18,000. but for greenhouse, the instrument became a part of him. >> he called it every superlative you could call it -- his love, his treasure, his heart, his voice. >> at the height of his career, greenhouse performed nearly 200 times a year. >> i always wanted to hop in the cello case and travel with my father wherever he was going. >> when greenhouse wasn't in concert, he taught at the manhattan school of music, juilliard, and here at home, in his cape cod studio.

this is where elena also played the cello as a child. you sometimes put your name in his appointment book to try to get time with him in lieu of a lesson, erasing the name of a student that was actually coming. >> i didn't do that to get a cello lesson. i did that to get an hour of his time. >> did you ever play the strad? >> no, never. >> why? >> i never played well enough to play the strad. >> by whose opinion? >> i guess by my father's, but i never wanted to. >> can i hear him play? >> i would love it. [ mid-tempo classical music plays ] having the music is wonderful. it's hard but wonderful. [ music continues ]

isn't it beautiful? >> wow! >> haunting. >> what's the first thing you do when you have to decide whether to keep or sell the family jewel? >> i think the first question you ask yourself is, "do you have any use for or love for the family jewel?" and then, i think a big part of it also is, "can you afford to keep the family jewel?" >> the financial implications of this strange inheritance worry elena and her husband, nicholas, who are both college professors nearing retirement. what would it have entailed to keep the strad? insurance? storage? >> coming up, of course, with the taxes that the government wants. >> did you hear from them? >> no, no, they just said, "let those people keep their inheritance." >> [ laughs ] >> "we have so many other people." yes, of course. >> so, does that weigh in to whether you have to sell something, the fact that you have to pay taxes? >> absolutely.

>> so, what should elena's family do? they decide it's too expensive to keep the strad. they're keenly aware that a successful auction could yield millions -- quite a nice nest egg in retirement. but selling a 300-year-old stradivarius is no small undertaking. >> it's a cutthroat world in the world of musical instruments. we came to understand all kinds of things that could go wrong. >> that's next. >> but first, our "strange inheritance" quiz question... the answer when we return.

>> when master cellist bernard greenhouse dies at the age of 95, his heirs face a quandary -- what to do with his beloved stradivarius, worth millions of dollars. >> my father, in his will, left the cello to me and to my sister. he left no instructions. he was unable to confront the sale of the cello, and he

preferred to let us figure it out so that he could have it till the very last day of his life. >> i'm in boston to understand how elena and her family deal with their strange inheritance. elena does her homework and decides to sell the strad through chris reuning from reuning & son. chris is a rare-instrument dealer. he's also a cellist and a luthier, someone who makes or repairs stringed instruments. how do you decide what bernard's stradivarius is worth? >> well, i think the first thing, you have to evaluate the quality. and then it also helps to know what the market history has been. so, in the case of this cello, we did know what other stradivari cellos had sold for. and we could compare the quality of this one to those. >> back in 2002, a similar cello

sold for $5 million. but over the past several years, collectors have driven the price of rare instruments way up, and each one has its own history -- a unique story that's a big factor in whether it fetches a 6-, 7-, or even 8-figure price at auction. nobody knows this cello's story better than elena's husband, nicholas delbanco. a novelist by trade, delbanco actually wrote an entire book about the instrument. it's called "the countess of stanlein restored," and it describes the painstaking restoration his father-in-law commissioned for the countess back in the 1990s. >> the wear and tear on such instruments is very high. aside from all the physical stress, there's change in climate, change in temperature, change in humidity. and at a certain point, the cello was almost as weary as he. >> nicholas' book details a

harrowing process. the cello was popped open with a knife and sat in pieces for months while some of its wood was patched. >> bernie got more and more restless and more and more ready to have his heart's darling returned. he said, then, "i will never let it go again," and he never did. >> but he did play the strad for more than another decade, and he let his students play it, too. in the last years of his life, bernard remained so attached to the cello that he slept with it. chris reuning believes every serious bidder will demand proof that the countess has no significant hidden flaws. >> in this case, we actually did a c.t. scan of the cello. >> like a doctor does. >> yes. >> is that unusual? >> we don't do it very often, but in this case there were some questions, if there was a crack. >> chris reuning called me one day here at the shop and said, "john, i've got this cello that i need c.t.-scanned right away."

>> chris flies with the strad to a hospital in minnesota, where experts are ready to diagnose the patient. the worry? vast sums could be wiped from this multimillion-dollar sale if the countess has damage from cracks or, worse, wormholes made inside the cello by tiny larvae. would that equate to thousands of dollars, hundreds of thousands of dollars? >> another quiz question... the answer in a moment. everyone uses their phone differently.

that's why xfinity mobile lets you design your own data.

you can share 1, 3, or 10 gigs of data between lines, mix in lines of unlimited, and switch it up at any time. all with millions of secure wifi hotspots and the best lte everywhere else. it's a different kind of wireless network, designed to save you money. switch and save up to $400 a year on your wireless bill. and save even more when you say "bring my own phone" into your voice remote. that's simple, easy, awesome. click, call or visit a store today.

>> in the fall of 2011, the heirs of bernard greenhouse anxiously await the results of a c.t. scan -- not on a person, but on a 300-year-old stradivari cello, known as the countess of stanlein. millions of dollars are at stake. radiologist steven sirr performed a scan just like this one. >> the diseases that affect the old cellos, they're usually caused by two things. one is cracks. the other abnormality is wormholes carved by larvae, which eat the channels of wood until sometimes there's hardly any original wood left. >> what exactly is happening as it goes through? >> the c.t. scanner produces x-rays, which are high-energy

light beams and very thin sheets. >> this is the actual c.t. scan of the stradivarius. chris shares with me his bottom line. >> this cello has been in constant use since 1800. and it's always been a player's instrument. so, it's been cared for beautifully. but there are cracks. >> whatever tiny cracks there might be, they don't affect the cello's unique sound. chris is able to set the official opening bid for bernard greenhouse's stradivari cello at a cool $6.2 million. there's just one hitch. the delbancos might not accept the highest bid if it's from such rich investor who just wants to lock the countess away in a vault. >> a cello is only half, perhaps not even half, itself if unheard. it had been his expressed desire

and conviction that it be played. >> and you made a decision that the strad was better in the hands of someone who could play it than on the shelf of someone who would pay more for it? >> well, potentially pay more for it, but we just didn't want it on a shelf. >> so, the idea was that they would be able to open the bids, look at all the factors -- the price, who's buying it -- and choose one of those bids. >> chris agrees to this unusual condition. it's not every day you get to sell a 300-year-old stradivarius. so, off he goes with the countess on a world marketing tour. >> all the cellists that i showed it to were completely shocked about the sound. all of them said it was the best cello they'd ever played. >> i had to wonder. is the sound of a strad really so divine?

after all, researchers recently blindfolded professional musicians and had them play violins, mixing historic strads with top new ones. most said they preferred the sound of modern instruments. so, i asked boston symphony orchestra cellist mihail jojatu to play two cellos for me, one modern and one from the 18th century, and not tell me which was which. can you play each one to see if somebody who doesn't know as much as you do can tell the difference? >> sure. my pleasure. >> you listen, too. what do you think? [ playing mid-tempo classical music ] that was spectacular. so, to me, that sounds as good as it gets. >> let's try this one.

>> i have to say that the sound sounded to me richer, deeper. >> you have a good ear. >> really? i'm shocked. >> yes, this is a good-quality, modern cello. it's a couple years old. and this is mihail's cello. this was made in what year? >> in 1780. >> i had one more request. if i were a student of yours, could you teach me to play one note? >> sure. >> chris, would you let me? >> i suppose, yes. >> you suppose? i sense hesitation. >> no, i trust you. [ cello screeching ] >> am i hurting the value of this cello? >> yes. >> [ laughing ] i'm sorry! i better stop. returning to the tale of the countess of stanlein, it isn't long before sealed bids start coming in.

in boston, chris sits down with the delbancos to open them and pick a buyer. what was the emotion in the room when you open the first bid for elena and nicholas to look at? >> you know, there was not a dry eye in the room because this cello was so much part of their life and signified her relationship to her father. >> saying goodbye to the countess of stanlein were more painful than i expected it to be. we all sat down in a little seating group in his office, and we put the cello as part of the seating group, and i began to feel more and more upset, and we just closed the case. and i've never seen it again. >> in the end, the greenhouse heirs accept a bid they feel they cannot refuse. it comes not from a cello virtuoso but from a foreign billionaire. but that's one last twist to this story when we return on

"strange inheritance." ♪ limu emu & doug

[ siren ] give me your hand! i can save you... lots of money with liberty mutual! we customize your car insurance so you only pay for what you need! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

>> eight months after virtuoso cellist bernard greenhouse dies, his heirs accept a secret bid on their stradivari cello. the price? all the auctioneer will say is that it's significantly higher than the $6.2 million opening bid. what's significantly higher than $6.2 million? >> yeah, the reason i'm not disclosing the price is out of respect to the buyer. >> a fair bid to me is 15% to 20% higher. significantly higher is 50% higher. is it between 15% and 50%? >> good try. [ chuckles ] >> okay, so i tried. and the delbancos are keeping it a secret, too. but in the end were they able to honor greenhouse's wish, that the countess be played and not shut away in a vault or museum?

the buyer, it turns out, is a canadian billionaire, jacqueline desmarais. she decides to permanently loan the countess to a 20-year-old canadian virtuoso named stephane tetreault. i've known about bernard greenhouse for years. he's a huge figure in music history. to have the chance to even touch his cello was just an honor. >> after the auction, the delbancos never intended to see the countess again. welcome. >> thank you. >> welcome. but then, we offered them a chance to meet stephane for the first time, at the carriage house recital hall near boston. [ playing mid-tempo classical music ]

as i listen, i can't help but think that if stephane performs as long as greenhouse did, the countess of stanlein will be heard for many decades to come. >> that was lovely. >> bravo. >> so good to hear you play. >> what a pleasure to meet both of you. >> and you. >> really. >> really. that was very beautiful. >> i was quite nervous, actually. >> what a great pleasure. >> pleasure. >> let me just... oh, there she is. >> so, in this tale of music and money, the delbancos seem satisfied that they have found a way to split the difference. more money might have made a difference in your life. how do you walk away from that?

>> there's never enough if you think in those terms. an extra million or six would hardly have mattered. >> i think it was a very special strad, and i think we're really happy with the outcome. >> before we go, i want to share this last thought. you know, years ago, back in the old days, bernard greenhouse and the trio could count on a break from the airlines when they had to fly the cello, allowing bernard to buy a child's ticket at half-price. well, once at the airport, a ticket agent called mr. greenhouse over after seeing the name "cello" on the ticket and said, "mr. greenhouse, how old is your son, cello?" to which bernard laughed, winked, and responded, "250 years old." i'm jamie colby. thanks so much for joining us on "strange inheritance." and don't forget. 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. >> a precious heirloom... >> "this was once the property of george washington." you're a v.i.p. >> [ laughing ] yeah. >> ...and the pride of a modest family. >> my father was a truck driver. we got along, but we were very frugal. >> so how did she end up with washington's wallet? >> are you a descendant of george washington? >> no, i'm not. and it's quite a long story. country... >> we want these things because we want a connection to these men. >> ...the allure of big bucks... >> i established a value for the wallet. >> it was a lot of money. >> ...and some good old-fashioned intrigue... >> someone took the wallet and disappeared. [ door creaks ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ]

[ bird caws ] >> i'm jamie colby, and today i'm crossing the delaware river from pennsylvania into new jersey. yes, i'm following the route that general george washington took to his big victory during the revolutionary war -- the battle of trenton. i'm tracking down what i believe is the most intriguing strange inheritance i've heard of so far, something the father of our country may have been carrying that fateful night -- his wallet. >> my name is barbara farwell, and this is my daughter, linda. i inherited something from my mother, and one day my daughter will inherit it from me. >> for reasons that will become clearer as we follow the twists and turns of this story, the farwells have let their heirloom go on display right here in trenton. barbara, how are you? i'm jamie. so nice to meet you. >> i'm glad to meet you.

>> hi, linda. how are you? >> hi. i'm fine. thank you. >> so, where'd you bring me? >> this is the old barracks museum. >> and you keep something from your family here? >> yes, we do. >> come in. >> during the revolutionary war, this building housed british and hessian soldiers. in fact, it was the target on christmas night in 1776 when general george washington and his men quietly crossed the delaware and launched a surprise attack on the enemy troops who were stationed here... [ men shouting, gunfire ] ...an attack that turned the tide of the revolution and changed the course of world history. there it is! and here we are. so, this is it. it's amazing! it says, "1775." were the initials added by your family? >> no. i think that was way back when that was made. >> are you a descendant of george washington? >> no, i'm not.

and it's quite a long story. >> a story that begins back in the 1700s, when large wallets like this -- or "pocketbooks," as they're called -- are essential accessories for important men like washington. what strikes you about washington when it comes to money? >> well, he was a wealthy man, but it was mostly in land. so, in terms of cash, that was always a problem for him. >> apropos of a tale about washington's wallet, biographer richard brookhiser tells me that the great man's career revolved, more than anything, around money. the revolutionary war is sparked by cries of "no taxation without representation!" and for washington, raising an army is easier than raising the dough to pay it. >> he sees his men without shoes, he sees them without the weapons they need, and he sees them not being paid, and he is

the man who's at the center of all this and trying to cope. [ men shouting ] >> washington's ultimate victory doesn't end his country's economic woes. what do we know about the overall economic stability of our nation at that time? >> wars are always expensive. the revolution was no exception, and by the end of it, the united states was broke. >> general washington can't feel much better off. he discovers his mount vernon estate and his massive agricultural enterprise have been mismanaged in his absence. >> washington is back at mount vernon, which he's only visited once in 8 1/2 years of war. he has to get it up and running again. >> he hires this man to help, and 24-year old harvard graduate tobias lear will play a key part in this strange inheritance tale. can you tell me about tobias lear and what his role was? >> washington needs assistants,

and tobias lear is one of the people who does that for him. >> before long, duty calls washington again -- to become enthat, among other things, isnt paying its bills. and tobias lear goes along for the ride. washington puts him in charge of his bookkeeping, a job that, for the next seven years, engenders a close bond. that's a real relationship of trust, then, between washington and lear. >> absolutely. >> president washington does put the nation's finances on firmer footing. no wonder he's on the $1 bill. it's also why i think inheriting his wallet, of all things, is so cool. no surprise that the first person it passes to, the story goes, is tobias lear, who stays at washington's bedside at mount vernon on the night of december 14, 1799, when the former president dies at age 67.

but the modern-day heirs in this strange inheritance story, the farwell ladies, are not descendants of tobias lear, either. they invite me back to their home in morrisville, pennsylvania, right across the delaware river, to connect the dots. >> my father was a truck driver. we got along, but we were very frugal. my mother was an excellent homemaker, pretty good cook, and she was a hard worker. >> she also has a little secret. where did your mom keep the wallet? >> in a little black box squirreled away somewhere. >> after the break, the improbable path of washington's wallet, if, in fact, it's really his. she is 100% convinced this is george washington's pocketbook. are you? >> but first, our...

>> the answer in a moment.

by a long shot, it's c. donald trump broke the record set by george washington, who in today's money had an an estimated $525 million dollars. trump's net worth in 2017 was estimated by forbes

magazine to be 3.7 billion. that makes him seven times as rich as washington. >> how neat must it be to possess a piece of history like this wallet owned by the farwell family, with the initials "g.w." and the year "1775"? >> he's the father of the country. >> richard brookhiser is author of books on several founding f george washington. what do those items from our past leaders add to our american history? >> well, it makes them vivid to see actual objects that they held, that they had, that they used. that makes them like us, because we all have similar things. we want these things because we want a connection to these men. >> i've seen that time and again on "strange inheritance," but the tricky part's proving that thing in grandpa's attic is the

real deal. the question's raised in episode after episode -- did those guns actually belong to bonnie and clyde? did jfk really sign those letters? did general pickett indeed wear that bloodstained uniform? >> the fancy term auctioneers and appraisers use is "provenance." i'd put it this way -- how can the farwells be sure their beloved family heirloom really is george washington's wallet? did the wallet come with any documentation? >> there was a letter, and it tells the whole story of how it came. >> it's actually an affidavit that's more than a century old, written by a lawyer named alfred bennett. >> linda, who was alfred bennett? >> my great-great-grandfather? >> yes. >> the letter, addressed "to whom it may concern" and signed by bennett in june 1900, traces the wallet back to "the selling

of the estate of one of the family of tobias lear, private secretary to george washington." and it concludes... "this pocketbook, to the best of my knowledge and belief, was once the property of george washington." you've heard how lear is said to have inherited washington's wallet. what happens next? in 1816, lear commits suicide, and, according to the affidavit, the wallet passes to one of his heirs -- likely his widow, frances. when that heir dies, a man named stacy hall handles the estate and, the letter says, takes possession of the wallet. when he dies, barbara's ancestor attorney john bennett gets it. from there it passes to john's son alfred, author of the affidavit, who bequeaths it to his daughter jane, who passes it to her daughter elva kiernan. and elva kiernan is barbara farwell's mother. she treasures it as though it's

the most valuable thing she has. it probably is! was she proud of it? >> yes. >> where did your mom keep the wallet? >> in a little black box squirreled away somewhere. >> and inside the wallet are two old paper bills that may well have been washington's. sadly, elva doesn't have the wherewithal to properly display the wallet or to protect it from theft or damage, so, in 1960, she proudly lends it to the nearby washington crossing museum. >> to see it on display and to bring your friends to see it -- "ooh! that belongs to you?" >> but things turn sour in 1976, when the museum renovates for the bicentennial. barbara is dismayed to find the wallet's been removed! >> when i took my friends to see it, to brag about it, "where's the wallet?" >> barbara's mom is beside

herself. >> she wanted more people to see it around that time. "i am taking the wallet to another museum," and she did. >> score one for jersey! elva crosses the delaware and lends the wallet to the old barracks museum here in trenton. they'll display it, and she can take it out any time she likes. would you not want it here as a center of a coffee table? >> no way. [ chuckles ] >> why not? >> i just was afraid something would happen to it. >> a legitimate fear. in january 1992, barbara's mother is staggered by a call from the museum. >> it's surprising she didn't have a stroke. >> who swiped washington's wallet? that's next. >> here's another...

extra credit if you can guess how many. the answer when we return.

>> 15 children, by two wives. [ telephone rings ] >> it's january 1992. 83-year-old widow elva kiernan gets a devastating phone call from the old barracks museum in trenton, new jersey. her precious heirloom, a leather wallet identified as george washington's, has been stolen from its case! >> someone took the wallet and disappeared. the new jersey detectives and the police were on the lookout for it.

>> did you post a reward? >> yes. total was $1,000 -- $500 from my mother and $500 from the barracks. >> it's all elva can afford, and, presumably, the barracks, too. weeks go by. then... it's back. a local lawyer followed an anonymous tip and secures the wallet's return on presidents' day, 1992. and this is classic -- the 200-year-old bills, presumably washington's, are missing. >> i was upset because i knew, as a child, i had seen the bills many, many times. er the law dise who brought him the wallet? >> no. >> do you remember, linda, if there was any information about who actually returned the wallet? >> no. >> but you gave it back to the museum? >> yes. >> that is, after the museum agrees to install a security system. and there it stays for the next decade, until the farwells

finally decide to have it insured. >> the first time i saw it was at one of my antique-appraisal events. >> lori verderame is an antiques appraiser with a phd in art history. you established a value for the wallet? >> based on comparable sales records, condition, provenance, and also my research, the insurance appraisal that i signed -- the pocketbook here was worth $75,000. >> it was a lot of money. >> enough to give any working-class family pause. >> that much money would really be a nice addition to our bank account [laughs] but my mother was very sure that that wallet shouldn't ever be sold. it should be for everybody to see. >> in fact, elva makes it all the way to 100 and never sells. she passes away in october 2008. barbara not only inherits the wallet but the cachet that comes

with it when she takes her bridge club to the old barracks for a personalized tour. tell me about it -- when you're able to share it with the ladies at the senior center. >> well, they're amazed. >> you're a v.i.p. >> [ laughing ] yeah. >> that pride in her family's small connection to the father of the country is why she agrees to tell her story to "strange inheritance." but will our questions spoil everything? i'm just curious, once we decided to do an episode of "strange inheritance," whether your thoughts about it changed in any way. >> i honestly did look in the files. >> that's next. we'd love to tell it! send me an e-mail or go to our website.

>> now back to "strange inheritance." >> i certainly enjoy being the owner and being known as a

[chuckling] celebrity. >> something curious happened after barbara farwell and her daughter, linda, agreed to let us tell the story about how their family inherited george washington's wallet. they keep it in trenton's old barracks museum, displayed above a decades-old plaque which flatly states it belonged to the father of our country. but when we ask to shoot inside the museum, a member of its staff tells us that now they're no longer sure if that's accurate. uh-oh! i'm wondering whether you took a second look at it and whether your thoughts about it changed in any way. >> i honestly did look in the files. we did not have an exact paper trail that goes right to 1775. >> richard patterson is the director of the old barracks museum. >> we don't have a receipt from washington. if we had a paper trail that went back a century or more, when you have some items that are attributed to a particular person, particularly a famous

person, that sort of adds to the level of documentation that you would like to have. it appears to be authentic to the period, and it's something that, quite plausibly, was carried by washington. >> mild-mannered barbara can't believe the museum, after all these years, is waffling on the wallet. >> i really am very sure that that's george washington's pocketbook. >> "plausibly" just doesn't cut it for her. washington biographer richard brookhiser understands. is it okay if we just believe it, or do we really need to know for sure? >> no, we want to know for sure. >> and we do know for sure, insists appraiser lori verderame. i ask her to make her case. >> the first thing we're gonna look for is age. i'm also gonna look for construction. the binding is just like what we would typically see. it's made the same way cambridge university would actually make its books. the age of the leather is correct, and these little bands

indicate where it was kept and what was in it. >> another key detail... >> you'll notice that sunburst in between the monogram of the "g" and the "w." >> yes! >> george washington was part of the freemasons, and that particular sunburst is an image in the 18th century that was also used by the freemasons. >> had washington lived in another age, it might be easier to remove all doubt -- if he'd been photographed with the wallet or if you could swab it for his dna. but dr. lori says that for a 240-year-old artifact, you'll rarely do better than her final piece of proof. >> so, this is where people say, "oh, we don't have a document." we do have a document. >> that affidavit attesting to the chain of custody from washington to farwell's ancestors. never sold, right? >> no, never sold -- always handed down in the family. >> that provenance, dr. lori adds, has never been challenged by anyone outside the farwell family. has dr. lori persuaded you? >> the initials and so on look

like they were done quite some time ago. >> in a graceful denouement, richard patterson seems to buy it. dr. lori is 100% convinced this is george washington's pocketbook. >> cool. >> are you? >> why not? i was leaning in that direction. >> barbara farwell is also pleased to hear dr. lori thinks the wallet could fetch a higher price -- if she wants to sell. >> value has increased, and condition has basically stayed the same because it's been protected in a museum environment. so i would appraise this george washington pocketbook for $100,000. [ cash register dings ] >> but barbara and linda still say their strange inheritance is not for sale. why is it more important to own the wallet than to sell it and have the money? >> because my mother really wanted us to keep it and pass it down through the ages. it'll be more valuable and more

interesting as the years go by. >> what happens if linda sells it? >> she said she wouldn't. >> i won't. >> i think i understand it now. >> i wouldn't take it now without an escort. [ chuckles ] >> what is it you're worried will happen to it? >> i don't want it to get stolen again, that's for sure. but did you not say you'd like to see it in the smithsonian? >> yeah, eventually. >> that's where millions of people would see it. >> yeah. >> word traveled fast of washington's victories after he crossed the delaware, with or without that wallet in his vest pocket. frederick the great of prussia said, "the achievements of washington and his little band of men were the most brilliant ever recorded in the annals of military achievements." the father of our country went for broke and pulled it off and so handed down an inheritance to all americans. i'm jamie colby.

thanks so much for watching "strange inheritance." and remember, you can't take it with you. >> it is 5 a.m. but this story this morning is pete buttigieg giving him a run for his money glncht comes in second place. amy klobuchar throwing down in the state what the shakeup means for the democratic playing field. >> following money what a mayor pete or amy klobuchar presidential win would mean for how about this apartment that comes with a life sale curator and designer duds how the luxury real estate market is upping its game fbn:am starts right now.