Population roughly 50,000. Right here in enid, they have the Third LargestStorage Capacity for grain on the planet. But wedged in between enids silos lies the tale of a cantankerous legend who left his grandchildren with a very strange inheritance. My name is stuart piontek, and in 2003, my brothers and sisters and i inherited something pretty unusual from my grandfather. His name was oliver jordan, and he died at 95. He was a child of the dust bowl. Grandpa would hold on to just about everything that passed through his life, whether it was a tin can, an automobile, a piece of copper wire. And oliver jordan kept it all here. For 60 years. This salvage lot was his home, his sanctuary, his fort knox. Hi, stuart welcome to paradise. I found it the rusted old cars in this shed some of them relics of the roaring 20s are a few of the more than 200 that jordan accumulated over his lifetime. Born in 1908, jordan was raised on a wheat farm. But his real interest was that fabulous new invention, the car. Grandpa was around machinery all the time, and automobiles were just beginning to happen. He got interested, and it was just a lifelong passion. Jordan grows up, gets married, and then, at 34 years old, abandons his wife and three young kids for a 16yearold girl in town. When my mother and her brother and sister were still children, my grandfather left the family for another woman. Her name was ruby, and that was quite a scandal. Everybody was hurt by it. In 1946, oliver buys a salvage yard in enid, where he and ruby live, and where he makes money selling old cars and parts. Oliver runs the salvage yard successfully for seven years. But then in 1953, he gets into a nasty argument with the town of enid over zoning and regulations two words he detests. The city came in and told him he had to put in a bathroom and do some other things, and grandpa just didnt like to be told what to do. He was just not a rule follower. Yeah, he was like, then fine. Ill close the doors. And thats what he did. Oliver continues to hoard old cars. He cuts himself off from most of his family and rarely lets another soul inside the shuttered salvage yard. Pretty much everybody in this town would drive by grandpas property and see all these old cars sitting right there. And some people they thought they were an eye sore, you know. Enid native brad waken recalls venturing over to the old mans place as a very young car buff in the 1970s. I walked across the street. It was, mr. Jordan, im looking for a starter for a continental sixcylinder engine. Do you have one . Well, after a long pause he basically said, well, its gonna be 50. Well, came back about a month later with my 50. He said, nope. 75. [ chuckles ] i learned a little bit of horse trading at that point in time. As a boy, stuart never gets to know grandpa oliver. Stuarts mom, olivers daughter, dies when stuart is only six a tragedy that separates him further from his grandfather. We would come to town to visit my grandfather, and grandpa had all these cars out in front of his property. Its like a little boys wonderland. And he had them protected with a fence and with big mean dogs. We couldnt get past the dogs. Did you ever wish that he spent more time with you . You know were you curious about him . Yeah, i was eager for the opportunity to get to know him. After his mothers death, stuart and his family move away. When stuart graduates high school in 1984, he decides to take a summer road trip back to enid. I got a Greyhound Bus ticket and went out to enid on my own. He took me over to his shop, and for the first time, i got to spend some time with my grandfather. And with all those cars. Sure, they look like heaps of scrap, but stuart comes to understand this was his grandfathers pride and joy, his collection. Its centerpiece these two depressionera cords. Grandpa had a fascination with the cord, because it was the first car that had frontwheel drive, and they had done some really ingenious things under the hood. After his high school road trip, stuart heads out west for college and then launches a successful furniture business in San Francisco. Then, in the fall of 2000, a call from out of the blue sends stuart scrambling back to enid. He opens the door [chuckles] and hes covered from head to toe in feathers. Thats next. But first, our strange inheritance quiz question. The answer when we return. Its easy to think that all Money Managers are pretty much the same. But while some push High Commission investment products, Fisher Investments avoids them. Some advisers have hidden and layered fees. Fisher investments never does. And while some advisers are happy to earn commissions from you whether you do well or not, Fisher Investments fees are structured so we do better when you do better. Maybe thats why most of our clients come from other Money Managers. Fisher investments. Clearly better money management. Copdso to breathe better,athe. I go with anoro. Go your own way copd tries to say, go this way. I say, ill go my own way with anoro. Go your own way oncedaily anoro contains two medicines called bronchodilators, that Work Together to significantly improve lung function all day and all night. Anoro is not for asthma. It contains a type of medicine that increases risk of death in people with asthma. The risk is unknown in copd. Anoro wont replace rescue inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than once a day. Tell your doctor if you have a heart condition, high blood pressure, glaucoma, prostate, bladder, or urinary problems. These may worsen with anoro. Call your doctor if you have worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain while taking anoro. Ask your doctor about anoro. Go your own way get your first prescription free at anoro. Com. Has gotten to know our business so well that is feels like hes a part of our team. With one phone call, he sets me up with tailored products and services. And when my advisor is focused on my tech, i can focus on my small business. A dell advisor can help you choose the right products with powerful intel® core™ processors. Looking for adventure this labor day . Holy smokes. Oh man, thats pretty intense. Look no further than chevrolet. This is a fast car. I feel like i left my soul back there. Wow. This has power head to the chevy labor day sales event and ride out the summer in a new chevrolet. Current chevy owners can use labor day bonus cash to get a total value of eleven thousand six hundred dollars on this silverado all star. Or, get 0 financing for 72 months on all tahoe and suburban models. Find new roads at the chevy labor day sales event. So, what was the lowest priced massproduced american car . Its b, the 1925 ford model t runabout. At 260, it sold for 5 less than the 1924 model. For half a century, cantankerous junkyard owner oliver jordan accumulates hundreds of old cars, some very rare and mostly intact, but all of them rusting as he grows old. Then, in the fall of 2000, his grandson stuart gets a phone call that opens the door to a new relationship and to a strange inheritance. Ruby, his companion of 60 years, had fallen off a ladder and broken her hip, and she was in the hospital. She called worried about grandpa, because he was back at the house and he was 94 years old. And that was the open door. And it took till his 90s, really. Yeah, because of who he was. He didnt want to need anybody. Stuart hops on a plane to oklahoma, not knowing what to expect. So, here i knock on the door. Hes 64, and even at 94, he has got quite a commanding presence. And he opens the door [chuckles] and hes covered from head to toe in feathers. He and ruby had a couple of dogs, and one of the dogs had torn up the feather bed. There was something about him that still just commanded respect, even covered in feathers. Seeing oliver in such a terrible state, stuart decides to stay in oklahoma for a while and take care of his grandfather. I was getting to know my grandfather through these cars. He was so proud to be showing them to me and me experiencing his lifes work and his pride and joy. To stuart, two things become immediately clear. First, oliver knows he doesnt have much time left. And second, hes worried about the fate of those cars. At one point, he said, thank god for you. Thank god for you. And i think he was so worried about what would happen to his things. Stuarts no car expert, but he does his homework and confirms that the centerpiece of the whole collection is indeed those cords from the 1930s, the ones he remembers from his high school road trip. What did the last cord sell for . Im not sure, but maybe not more than 400 of these or 500 of these were ever made. Bestcase scenario. Im thinking bestcase scenario, restored, is probably 300,000, 350,000 maybe. Thoughts like that lead stuart down a road that will take him more than a decade to travel and cost him plenty. Just for starters, he lays out tens of thousands of dollars to ship in secure containers and build a steel Storage Building to house the most prized cars. Its his lifes work, but also if these things are so valuable, why are they just rotting away here, you know . And someone has to step in and do something about it. In august 2003, oliver jordan dies at the age of 95, leaving his enormous Automobile Collection to stuart and his siblings. The original windows that they would stick in the sides. Stuart tells me this 1924 rollin touring car is one of his personal favorites. The model was popular among bootleggers during prohibition. So, theres toggle switches on the dashboard where they would turn off the taillights if they were being followed by somebody. To hide the booze. Thats right. But these cars represent just a snippet of olivers vast collection. Ive never seen anything like this, stuart. There are so many cars. Its quite a strange thing to inherit, isnt it . Before he dies, oliver gives stuart some business advice. He said, now, dont sell all of those cars and parts all at once. You sell them one at a time. cause youd make more money that way. But after trying to sell a couple online, stuart realizes it would take the rest of his life to sell them onebyone. Turns out just getting the titles for all these old cars takes months. You had to get title to every single one of these cars . Theyre from the 30s. How do you that . Let me show you. First, you have to find the cars i. D. Numbers. Oh, my god. You can still read it well, we had to polish it off. But we were able to actually get titles for the majority of the cars. The years click by like odometer miles. And stuart keeps spending more to authenticate and protect the old cars. A lot of plane trips from San Francisco and back, too. By 2013, he says, hes invested 400,000 getting the collection primed for auction. Ready or not, its time to sell. Hey, jamie. Hi. How are you, yvette . Stuart contacts auctioneer Yvette Vanderbrink to appraise the collection. So, is stuart sitting on a pile of junk or a potential gold mine . Theres about 220 of them. Theyre mostly american cars, and theyre prewar, which is pre1942. Very rare cars, cause at the start of world war ii, they started limiting production. And you could only get one from a ration coupon. Stuart and yvette make plans for a oneday auction right here on the salvage lot. Word begins to spread about oliver jordans old treasures. Stuart soon learns thats not altogether a good thing. We arrived at the property and found someone had cut through the fence and then cut a hole in the side of this building the size of a human body, and they stole over 250 antique radiators, tons of chrome parts, a lot of nice stuff. The antique radiators alone are worth nearly 40,000. But the biggest loss for stuart is the theft of olivers rare and beloved 1904 harleydavidson, possibly worth several hundred thousand dollars. So, it really set us back, and we had to hire additional security and we had to move the auction forward. That entails some wordofmouth advertising by him and some seatofthepants hotrodding by me. You have this thing insured . Yes, i do. Oh, good thing, because theres a tree right there. Thats next. [ tires squeal ] heres another quiz question for you. The answer when we return. What started as a passion to make something original. Has grown into an enterprise. Thats why i switched to the spark cash card from capital one. Now, im earning unlimited 2 cash back on every purchase i make. Everything. Which adds up to thousands of dollars back every year. And helps keep my passion growing. In every direction. Whats in your wallet . Ah, my poor mouth breather. Allergies . Stuffy nose . Cant sleep . Enough. Take that. A breathe right nasal strip of course. Imagine just put one on and pow it instantly opens your nose up to 38 more than allergy medicine alone. So you can breathe, and sleep. Better than a catnap. Shut your mouth and say goodnight, mouthbreathers. Breathe right. So, which of these deceased celebritys cars sold for the highest bid at auction . Its the actor steve mcqueen. In 2013, his ford gt40 sold for 11 million. Stuart piontek is racing to auction off his strange inheritance hundreds of vintage cars. His grandfathers lifelong obsession has become stuarts own. Hes invested 13 years and 400,000 in the collection. I catch up with him at the hot Rod Association rally in oklahoma city. Hi, my name is stuart. Did you know my grandfather . While stuart works the crowd, im gonna see if i can get behind the wheel of one of these soupedup automobiles. How are you doing . Hey, im jamie. Hello, jamie. How are you . Hello, im steven. Tell me about this car. Well its a 37 chevrolet, so its 77 years old. So, ive had it quite a bit of its life. Part of the family. Yes, it is. Oh, my. Ive just gotten the keys. We can do that. Lets go. All right. You have this thing insured . Yes, i do. Oh, good thing, because theres a tree right there. All right. Hold on. Whoohoo now were talking [ tires screech ] this would work for me in new york. Auctioneer Yvette Vanderbrink is here, too. So, yvette, you know, you see these shiny red cars, and, i mean, you can tell there must be some value here. But some of them look like junk. But theyre not . No. Theyre not junk. You know, its a different trend in the carcollecting hobby now. That trend is called patina. It refers to the factoryoriginal paint that shows the ravages of time. Some car collectors relish that vintage, barnfind look and spray a clear coat of varnish on top to preserve it. That could be good news for the rarest cars stuart has those two cords from the 1930s. But if youre like me, youre wondering what they might look like restored. I didnt have to go far to find out. Remember brad waken, who once tried to buy a starter from old oliver jordan . Hes now a cord aficionado. Hes spent over 30 years restoring this cord. Its a stunning example of what a cord looks like in all its glory. We went through the engine, we painted it, we fixed the interior. Its something that we looked at restoring history and not just putting on a nice paint job and chroming everything. [ indistinct p. A. Announcement ] [ auctioneer calling ] on june 7, 2014, its finally the big day of the auction. Were gonna have fun and were gonna book and i just killed 10 minutes. Auctioneer Yvette Vanderbrink welcomes a crowd of at least 300 people. Hope i covered everything for you. All right . Stuarts sister starla crosses her fingers. Its been a lot of hard work. I hope that stuart just at least he gets back what hes put into it and that my other siblings, that what theyve put into it, they get back. All right, guys this was one of mr. Jordans favorite vehicles. Stuarts put in 400 grand. Will he get it back . 35,000. I have 40,000. 40,000. Thats next. Today, were out here with some big news about type 2 diabetes. You have type 2 diabetes, right . Yes. So let me ask you this. How does diabetes affect your heart . It doesnt, does it . Actually, it does. Type 2 diabetes can make you twice as likely to die from a cardiovascular event, like a heart attack or stroke. And with Heart Disease, your risk is even higher. You didnt know that. No. Yeah. But, wait, theres good news for adults who have type 2 diabetes and Heart Disease. Jardiance is the only type 2 diabetes pill with a lifesaving cardiovascular benefit. Jardiance is proven to both significantly reduce the chance of dying from a cardiovascular event in adults who have type 2 diabetes and Heart Disease and lower your a1c. Jardiance can cause serious side effects including dehydration. This may cause you to feel dizzy, faint, or lightheaded, or weak upon standing. Ketoacidosis is a serious side effect that may be fatal. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, tiredness, and trouble breathing. Stop taking jardiance and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of ketoacidosis or an allergic reaction. Symptoms of an allergic reaction include rash, swelling, and difficulty breathing or swallowing. Do not take jardiance if you are on dialysis or have severe kidney problems. Other side effects are sudden kidney problems, genital yeast infections, increased bad cholesterol, and urinary tract infections, which may be serious. Taking jardiance with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take and if you have any medical conditions. So now that you know all that, what do you think . That its time to think about jardiance. Ask your doctor about jardiance. And get to the heart of what matters. If youd have told me three years ago. That wed be downloading in seconds, what used to take. Minutes. That guests would compliment our wifi. That we could video conference. And do it like that. snaps if youd have told me that i could afford. A gigspeed. A gigspeed network. Its like 20 times faster than what most people have. Id of said. Id of said youre dreaming. Dreaming definitely dreaming. Then again, dreaming is how i got this far. Now more businesses in more places can afford to dream gig. Comcast, building americas largest gigspeed network. Now more businesses in more places can afford to dream gig. When this guy got a flat tire in the middle of the night, so he got home safe. Yeah, my dad says our insurance doesnt have that. What . you can leave worry behind when liberty stands with you™. Liberty mutual insurance. Itwhats possible. Nk rethink the experience. Rethink your allergy pills. Flonase sensimist allergy relief uses unique Mistpro Technology and helps block 6 key inflammatory substances with a gentle mist. Most allergy pills only block one. And 6 is greater than one. Rethink your allergy relief. Flonase sensimist. Now back to strange inheritance. The buzz over oliver jordans antiquecar auction has brought collectors from all over the country to enid, oklahoma. Some are just looking to buy parts, but others are here with plenty to spend for just the right vehicle. I came with a trailer and a pickup, and if i have to, ill run back and get a bigger truck and a bigger trailer to haul more cars. [ auctioneer calling ] you have to be quick to purchase in this game. These cars can go in less than a minute. [ calling ] sold it [ calling ] sold it sold it sold it sold it 9,600. People seem in good spirits, and things seem to moving pretty well, so its going pretty good. Stuarts cautiously optimistic as oliver jordans two beloved cords are about to go up for bid. Stuart thinks theyd each be worth six figures if fully restored. But how much in this condition . The 1937 cord 812 beverly supercharged. This was one of mr. Jordans favorite vehicles. Its going to need every little piece restored. Okay. 35,000. I have 40,000. 40,000. Yes now 42,000. [ calling ] sold it 42,000. Going to new york. What will the second cord fetch . Tara, what do you got . I got 20,000. 20,000, and were going. [ calling ] sold it 22,000. Its over in seconds. The same anonymous telephone bidder pays 64,000 for both cars. Stuart says hes not disappointed. In this condition, thats a great price for them as much as we could have hoped for. And its really great because theyre gonna move on. After an emotional day, the grand total for this auction 540,000. Subtract the 400,000 stuart invested and its a profit of 140,000 to split with his siblings. Add in all that time the family invested in this strange inheritance, and its no windfall. So, here we go. Whoohoo thats a good one. All right. Then again, watching the grandchildren of oliver jordan pop open the bubbly has to make you wonder was their 13yearold enterprise ever really about turning rusted iron into gold . Or was it about a different kind of alchemy one, perhaps, that restores broken and brittle family ties into strong, lifelong bonds . We lost our mother when we were rather young, and we didnt really get to know her parents that well, and so this brought us closer. Would grandpa what would he say . Hed say, stuart. I think hed say, im proud of you, you know . Would that be important for you to hear from your grandfather . Yeah, definitely. And thats really what it was about for me doing right by him and by my family. Stuart sold all of his grandpas cars, and he regretted losing only one the 1924 rollin touring car. It was a favorite of prohibition bootleggers, and on auction day, an 86yearold woman came just to see it. She explained that her grandfather had driven it to the hospital the day she was born and then sold it to oliver jordan. Of all the stories about this strange inheritance, this may have been stuarts favorite. So, stuart asked the man that bought the touring car for 4,800 to let him know if he ever resold it. Stuart might want to buy that one back. Im jamie colby for strange inheritance. Thanks so much for watching, and remember you cant take it with you. Do you have a strange inheritance story youd like to share with us . Wed love to hear it. Send me an email or go to our website, strangeinheritance. Com. A worldfamous musician dies and leaves his daughters his prized instrument. His love, his treasure, his heart, his voice. Its more than 300 years old and could be worth many millions. But this strange inheritance is about more than money. Its about a european countess, a fathers 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 ] im jamie colby, and im on cape cod, massachusetts, heading to the small town of wellfleet. Im here to learn about a strange inheritance that shaped a familys 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 fathers home for many years. He and my mother built it in 1955. Elenas 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 worlds premier cellists, bernard figured he should be playing one of the worlds 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 wasnt 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 didnt 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 fathers, but i never wanted to. Can i hear him play . I would love it. [ midtempo Classical Music plays ] having the music is wonderful. Its hard but wonderful. [ music continues ] isnt it beautiful . Wow haunting. Whats 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 elenas family do . They decide its too expensive to keep the strad. Theyre keenly aware that a successful auction could yield millions quite a nice nest egg in retirement. But selling a 300yearold stradivarius is no small undertaking. Its a cutthroat world in the world of musical instruments. We came to understand all kinds of things that could go wrong. Thats next. But first, our strange inheritance quiz question. The answer when we return. Its easy to think that all Money Managers are pretty much the same. But while some push High Commission investment products, Fisher Investments avoids them. Some advisers have hidden and layered fees. Fisher investments never does. And while some advisers are happy to earn commissions from you whether you do well or not, Fisher Investments fees are structured so we do better when you do better. Maybe thats why most of our clients come from other Money Managers. Fisher investments. Clearly better money management. Copdso to breathe better,athe. I go with anoro. Go your own way copd tries to say, go this way. I say, ill go my own way with anoro. Go your own way oncedaily anoro contains two medicines called bronchodilators, that Work Together to significantly improve lung function all day and all night. Anoro is not for asthma. It contains a type of medicine that increases risk of death in people with asthma. The risk is unknown in copd. Anoro wont replace rescue inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than once a day. Tell your doctor if you have a heart condition, high blood pressure, glaucoma, prostate, bladder, or urinary problems. These may worsen with anoro. Call your doctor if you have worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain while taking anoro. Ask your doctor about anoro. Go your own way get your first prescription free at anoro. Com. 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. Im 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 rareinstrument dealer. Hes also a cellist and a luthier, someone who makes or repairs stringed instruments. How do you decide what bernards 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 thats a big factor in whether it fetches a 6, 7, or even 8figure price at auction. Nobody knows this cellos story better than elenas husband, nicholas delbanco. A novelist by trade, delbanco actually wrote an entire book about the instrument. Its called the countess of stanlein restored, and it describes the painstaking restoration his fatherinlaw commissioned for the countess back in the 1990s. The wear and tear on such instruments is very high. Aside from all the physical stress, theres 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 hearts 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 dont 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, ive 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 multimilliondollar 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. Oh boy. Looking for adventure this labor day . Holy smokes. Oh man, thats pretty intense. Look no further than chevrolet. This is a fast car. I feel like i left my soul back there. Wow. This has power head to the chevy labor day sales event and ride out the summer in a new chevrolet. Current chevy owners can use labor day bonus cash to get a total value of eleven thousand six hundred dollars on this silverado all star. Or, get 0 financing for 72 months on all tahoe and suburban models. Find new roads at the chevy labor day sales event. If you could book a flight, then add a hotel, or car, or activity in one place and save, where would you go . Expedia. You know how painful heartburn can be. For fastacting, longlasting relief, try doctor recommended gaviscon. It quickly neutralizes stomach acid and helps keep acid down for hours. Relieve heartburn with fast acting, longlasting gaviscon. And helps keep acid down for hours. So we need tablets installed. With the menu app ready to roll. In 12 weeks. Yeah. The world of fast food is being changed by faster networks. Data, applications, customer experience. Which is why comcast business delivers Consistent Network Performance and speed across all your locations. Fast connections everywhere. Thats how you outmaneuver. 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 300yearold 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, theyre usually caused by two things. One is cracks. The other abnormality is wormholes carved by larvae, which eat the channels of wood until sometimes theres hardly any original wood left. What exactly is happening as it goes through . The c. T. Scanner produces xrays, which are highenergy 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 its always been a players instrument. So, its been cared for beautifully. But there are cracks. Whatever tiny cracks there might be, they dont affect the cellos unique sound. Chris is able to set the official opening bid for Bernard Greenhouses stradivari cello at a cool 6. 2 million. Theres just one hitch. The delbancos might not accept the highest bid if its 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 didnt 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, whos buying it and choose one of those bids. Chris agrees to this unusual condition. Its not every day you get to sell a 300yearold 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 theyd 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 doesnt know as much as you do can tell the difference . Sure. My pleasure. You listen, too. What do you think . [ playing midtempo Classical Music ] that was spectacular. So, to me, that sounds as good as it gets. Lets try this one. I have to say that the sound sounded to me richer, deeper. You have a good ear. Really . Im shocked. Yes, this is a goodquality, modern cello. Its a couple years old. And this is mihails 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 ] im sorry i better stop. Returning to the tale of the countess of stanlein, it isnt 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 ive 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 thats one last twist to this story when we return on strange inheritance. Were on to you, diabetes. Times up, insufficient prenatal care. And administrative paperwork. Your days of drowning people are numbered. Same goes for you, budget overruns. And rising costs, wipe that smile off your face. Were coming for you, too. For those who wont rest until the world is healthier, neither will we. Optum. How well gets done. Ah, my poor mouth breather. Allergies . Stuffy nose . Cant sleep . Enough. Take that. A breathe right nasal strip of course. Imagine just put one on and pow it instantly opens your nose up to 38 more than allergy medicine alone. So you can breathe, and sleep. Better than a catnap. Shut your mouth and say goodnight, mouthbreathers. Breathe right. Chances are, the last time yoyou got robbed. 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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 its significantly higher than the 6. 2 million opening bid. Whats significantly higher than 6. 2 million . Yeah, the reason im 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 greenhouses 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 20yearold canadian virtuoso named stephane tetreault. Ive known about Bernard Greenhouse for years. Hes 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 midtempo Classical Music ] as i listen, i cant 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 . Theres 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 were 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 childs ticket at halfprice. 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. Im jamie colby. Thanks so much for joining us on strange inheritance. And dont forget. You cant take it with you. Do you have a strange inheritance story youd like to share with us . Wed love to hear it. Send me an email or go to our website, strangeinheritance. Com. On a cool spring evening in north carolina. [ tires screech, crash ]. A car crash kills a renowned coin collector. Hes carrying the crown jewel of his collection. But is it really one of the rarest and most valuable coins in the world or a clever fake . I just imagine shes sitting there saying to me, they say im not real. What do you think . Half a century passes before the mans heirs and the public learn the truth about his precious cargo. We sat there on pins and needles, and then the numbers started climbing. [ door creaks ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ] [ bird caws ]