et cetera. keep the conversation going. that's the fox report. i am julie bandaras. and don't forget to set your clock ahead. >> on a cool spring evening in north carolina, a car crash killed a renown coin collector carrying the crown jewel. was it one of the rarest or a clever fake? >> they say i am not real, what do you think? >> half a century family before the public learn the truth about his precious cargo. >> we sat there on pins and needles.

>> i am jamie colby. today i am in picturesquero anoke, virginia. the name roenak e means money and that is appropriate to the story of the strange inheritance. ♪ >> i am ryan gibbons. and in known 92, my mother died at the age of 79. as executor of her estate i found a lock box in her closest that contained a strange envelope. >> this is the box she kept it in, in her bedroom closest and kept it along with other things in this envelope right here. >> this is a change, date and what else? >> not for real one. >> change date and not real,

1913. the note reflected what she was told about the note. clever fake of one of the rarest coins ever minted. 1913 liberty head $0.05 piece. coin expert wrote a book. >> 1893 and 1912 was made for commerce. they made the decision move on to the buffalo nickel x. they should have stopped making liberty nickels and but somebody made five. >> the five nickels are legal tender and the u.s. treasury has no record of them. >> samuel brown was a mint employee at the time when they transitioned from the liberty head to the buffalo nickel.

there was speculation he had them made and put them away. >> five specimen made their way. the seller was samuel brown. >> the statute of limitation had passed and so all of the sudden, there is a huge story that five coins that never existed would be there. >> four years later they are purchased by a single wealthy collector for $2,000. and early 1940s in st. louis that the set of five nickels is solid. egypt's king picked up one and so did the prominent coin collector ryan gibbon's uncle. george walten. enter into the benefactor.

>> tell me about uncle george. >> he was a collector. he had books and almanacs and coins. >> ryan didn't know uncle george well and neither did anybody else. he was a lifelong bachelor and an estate appraiser. he lives in a series of hotels from north carolina are to florida. exactly how walten came to acquire his 1913 nickel is murky. the most odd told story 1946 he traded 3750 worth of cold for the rare nickel. and it may or may not an heir to the camel cigarette fortune. >> we assume it fls rj

reynommeds. walten has a special status on the coin show circuit. >> it was a calling card. if you were an owner of the 1913 nickel you were a important collector. >> he played the role to the hilt. and he was flipping the famous nick and he will was he worried about scratching it. no, because it is a fake. >> the reason being. it was a valuable coin used it for display than the real one. >> he promises to show the real one in north carolina where he is a headliner are and 250,000 worth of rare coins, he sets out on a drive to wilson. >> nowadays, it would be in a armored truck. >> wilson was having their first

show and it was going to be a big deal. >> it is march 9, 1962. he was in the town limits and he was hit by a lady driving a car and apparently had been drinking. he was killed instantly. george walten was 55 years old. he died without a will. and so a sibling and the bank was it is executor. >> they sent letters to every bank and said do you have anything there that belonged to george walten. >> once all of his collection fls assembled the family gets shocking news that stunned coin affectiona d os.

his 1913 liberty nickel is declared a fake. >> the nickel was a piece of junk. >> a piece of junk? could it be? that's next. and now for our strange inheritance quiz question. name the first woman whose portrait appeared on u.s. currency. martha washington or susan b anthony. the answer in a moment. ♪ [upbeat music] defiance is in our bones. defiance never grows old. citracal maximum. easily absorbed calcium plus d. now in a new look.

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♪ ♪ >> so kwho was the first woman to have her portrait appear on u.s. currency. it is a, martha washington who appeared on the $1 silver certificate in 1886. >> on the way to a north carolina coin show 1962, the george collector george walton dies in a car crash. it is front page news in the coin world. >> george walton was respected and he had one of the greatest checks of all times. the new york city auction house appraised george's coin collection. >> he sent a man to evaluate and collect all of the coins. it took two or throw weeks. >> how much did the family get? >> the total came to over 850,000 and it set a record.

sn >> it would have been 60000 more if not for the stunning pronouncement that walton's prize 1913 nickel is a phony. because the three in 1913 is not used by the u.s. mint stacks concluded that the dates was altered. >> it was not difficult to take a liberty head coin toality are the wrero to look like a three. >> he has a number of those in his collection so many it needs to notice the secret service. >> the secret service came and took the items he had because they were counterfeit or illegal to own. >> stacks declared the nickel a fake, but the secret service said keep it, it's okay. >> it was not illegal to have an

alttered date. but if you try to sell it that was illegal. >> they warn the family never to pass it off as the real mccoy. and in the meantime george walton's reputation takes a beating. >> it was a piece of junk and it was put in with the odds and ends and so my mom picked out the 1913. and she was born in 1913 and that it could have been the reason. the other thought she wanted it put away permanent he. >> to protect his reputation. >> and try to keep it from getting any worse. >> melva gibopes believed he had the real nickel in the coin collection and accepts the one in the closest is really a fake. >> she had coin magazines and news articles kept up with the

1913 and she knew he had it, but couldn't find it. >> she's not the only one who is looking. everyone in coin collecting circles is wondering where the vanished nickel has gvenlt some believe it was by the side of the road and showed up with metal detectors. the nickel enters into american cultural lore. and enters in tv and hardy boylore. >> i was the executor and i went through what she had. and she had a box of items in her closest and i got the box out, and the nickel was there. ryan takes the envelope with the

nickel in it and place its on his night stand. >> i used to look at it late at night. one time i imagined she is sitting there is aing to me. they say i am not real, what do you think? >> with each passing year, 1913 liberty legend gross and so does the value of the four confirmed specimens and one became the first coin to sell for over $1 million. and then in april of 2003 a cover reporter sparks the most stunning turn of events. everything that the experts thought they knew about the coin in the world was wrong. >> i was looking to tell the story. inheritance". >> for this "strange inheritance" quiz question, you might want to get up close to your for this quiz question one of

the coins that you are looking at the a fake 1913 liberty and the other is genuine. can you tell which is the real one. the numbers tell the story. thl arthritis lasts 8 hours but aleve can last 12 hours. and aleve is proven to work better on pain than tylenol arthritis. so why am i still thinking about this? how are ya? good. aleve. proven better on pain. trucks splashing through the of mud. no cowboy hats, horses, or hay bales. just a ram 3500 that, head to head, can out-tow ford's f-350 by more than one and a half tons. get more facts at ramtrucks.com

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>> take one more look. can you ll >> take one more look. can you tell which is the red ron. it is b. stay tuned to find out why. >> one of the five super rare 1913 liberty nickels has been missing for decades and every since george waltons was declared a fake in 1962.

41 years later in 2003. paul montgomery's company is trying to raise excitement for a coin show in baltimore. >> our publicist remembered it was the 90th anniversary. 1913 nickels and it would be nice to have a reunion of all of the coins. and what about a 1 million reward for that fifth nickel regardless of the condition it was in? >> i said i would pay a millionine if it had a hole in it. they pick up the story and they call the newsroom. >> someone anyhow george walton and we had our research li brarian pick up information on mr. walten's relatives. >> the research went to ryan. >> he knew about the nickel but

not the reward. >> that sets in motion a series of extraordinary events. >> i also contacted the editor of coin world. she asked him if he knew where the altered coin was. and she got in contact with me and said we would like to have it on display in baltimore. >> ryan is uninterested in dredging up the bogus tale. but the 90-year-old lady is calling out to him again. and so i asked my brother and sister if it was okay to take it up there and they said fine with them. >> wow, what if it is real? >> you wonder but i wondered more to find if it was real for uncle george. it was his reputation. >> on july 30th, 2003. he drives fromroa noak. and met with the siblings to

show the nickel. >> i was ready to tell them the coin was not genuine and you always want to meet someone with the business. >> once he has it in the hands. paul montgomery sg does a double take. this doesn't look like a fake. paul invites jeff garrett who has a pedigree as solid as his own and four other experts to assess the nickel authteesity. >> i think we found the coin. >> it is goose bumps. >> they were the coin experts and you get an indication as to whether it is real or not. >> they didn't show any and i was nervous. >> and this convention holds an unprecedented opportunity that stacks doesn't have in 1993. to compare george's nickel with the others that were

authtenticated. >> we spent 45 minutes talking about the different nuances of the coin. they hone in on the strange three. it is identical will on all five coins. >> it took a long time but finally they called us over and all decided that it was real. >> it caused stacks to say it was phony, proves decades later it is real and in mint condition and an incredible story make it worth more than the million dollar bountyna montgomery is offering. >> i am the only dealer in the history of our industry who got to tell a family that thought they had nothing had indeed millions of dollars and that's the best thing that happen to me

in my career. >> but gibbons a newly minted millionaire? >> it was like having a lottery ticket. >> all they need to do is cash in. not so fast. that is next on strange inheritance. exercise regularly. 83% try to eat healthy. yet up to 90% of us fall short in getting key nutrients from food alone. let's do more, together. add one a day. complete with key nutrients we may need. plus, for women, physical energy support with b vitamins. and for men, it helps support healthy blood pressure with vitamin d and magnesium. take one a day multivitamins.

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and drinking waterthy just isn't enough to ease my constipation i trust dulcolax tablets. i take dulcolax for dependable overnight relief and in the morning, i am back to myself dulcolax, designed for dependable relief >> now back to strange inheritance. in july of 2003. ryan and his sibblings found out the strange inheritance that was fake was real and they can cash in for millions. it was clear to me that it was a family not interested in selling. ryan will tell you he would rather have the coin in the family. >> they don't have the money to insure it to the coin and loan it to the american pneumatic association which displays it in colorado springs. and then the 100th birthday is

approaching. >> we realize we are not getting younger and we would have to sell it and it was part of my mom's estate. >> paul montgomery introduces them to gregro han. ceo of heritage auction the largest coin auction house. >> it is arguably one of the most famous. and so the opportunity to handle one is like a paintings collector getting the mona lisa. heritage sets a date of april 25th. 2013 in chicago, fitting since that is where the five liberty head nickels were revealed back in 1920. auction shut down and we'll prepare for the special offering and we sat there on pins and needles and then the numbers. and then jeff gator one of the

experts who helped decided to place his bid with larry lee. >> sitting in the audience and i said larry this coin is going to sell in 15 minutes and last chance to bid and half jokingly and he calls me and said what do you think it would bring. 2.1. >> jeff and larry bid against another collector and went hundred thousand each bid. (applause) jeff and larry win the auction. how much did they pay for the nickel. >> the total price came to throe.2 million. it was almost a surreal experience and personal perspective it was like a chance to have a few great coin. >> larry lee now the nickel's

owner put its on display in panama city. they split the proceeds four ways and donate hundred thousand in honor of uncle george. >> any regret? >> it will keep going and going. and how long would you live to enjoy it? although the mystery of the walton nickel is solved george himself made noises of knowing where there was a sixth 1913 coin is out. there we can't know for sure how many were minted. think of that? there could be gold in those drawers or sofa cushion and remember, you can't take it with you.

do you have a strange inheritance story you would like to share with us? we would love to hear it and send me an e-mail or go to our website at strange inheritance.com. >> an eight-year-old gets a strange inheritance. >> but what does a boydo with a winery? >> my friend's parents would totally freak out. >> talk about getting your feet wet in a new business. >> how does the family keep it from dying on the vine in >> i didn't know anything about wine except that i like to drink it. >> what will the heir do when he grows up. >> try to prove i am not just the owner's