[ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ] [ bird caws ] im jamie colby, and im driving into portales, new mexico, along the texas border and near the Cannon Air Force base. You know, the welcome sign here says it all 17,000 friendly people and three or four old grouches . Im here to meet a man whose strange inheritance certainly called for that kind of sense of humor. My name is john wall. My mother, irene wall, passed at 90 years old. She had left me with a very large collection that meant a lot to her, but i didnt know what to do. Great. So nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. Welcome to my home. Well, so, what do think of all these dolls . Wow this is kind of the way it was in my moms house, only there were so many more. Johnny, i feel like im 8 years old again with all these dolls. Well, i have the reputation around here as the doll boy but i dont know anything about them. Looking around, you have earned that reputation. What are you going to do . The goal of my moms and mine was to find a home for them, and thats what i want to do. The collection meant the world to johns mother because of the world she grew up in. December 7th, 1941. A date which will live in infamy. When the u. S. Enters world war ii, 20yearold Irene Jennings is Teaching High School in her hometown of dora, new mexico. Shes barely older than her students. This is when she graduated from new mexico state university. Now, for the time, graduating from college is very important for a woman. Very important back then. Very few got to be there. Of all the inheritances ive learned about, your family has suffered so much pain. It started with your mothers brother. Yes. Tell me about him. He was drafted after pearl harbor, and they were sent to the philippines. Irenes brother vernon is one of more than 60,000 american and philippine soldiers captured by the japanese on the bataan peninsula. Theyre forced to march 80 miles in scorching heat without food, water, or medical care. Thousands die of exhaustion. Some are executed by the japanese. Did your mom think that her brother was going to come home . They always had hopes. Many of the boys in irenes classroom are eager to sign up and fight. Their way of assuring her that they will return is to promise to bring her something back. Like a doll, maybe. Your mom was such a beloved teacher that they brought her these dolls. Even back then, mother was known to be a doll lover, and the students would bring them to her. The returning vets do bring irene dolls from all over the world. Rare geisha dolls from japan, lifelike celluloid dolls from germany, and beautiful duchess dolls from france. For irene, whose hardscrabble youth left little time for fantasy, her foreign dolls open a window to the big wide world. My grandparents were sharecroppers. Toys was not one of those luxury items they had a lot of. And i think once she become financially able, she had those feelings that, i love dolls, and i think thats what i would like to collect. When the war ends in 1945, irene finally gets a letter saying her brother vernon died in captivity. He had died during this death march deal, and was buried in the philippines. In a twist of fate, this tragic news brings irene in contact with the man she would eventually marry, a man who nearly starved to death in a japanese prison camp. When my dad came home from the service, he felt he owed it to the families of Roosevelt County to go around and talk to them about their loved ones that they lost. And my mothers brother was one of them, and then thats where they got acquainted. As she collected all these dolls, what did your dad say . My dad let my mother have a lot of reins. Irene was a very keen woman. John wall jr. Is their only child. He grows up, marries a hometown gal, starts a family of his own, and gets a job as a groundskeeper at new mexico state university. Over the years, irenes evergrowing collection is a marvel to her greatniece lori davis. Every year we went over there, there were more dolls in her house. There was campbells soup dolls, flintstone dolls, dolls like shirley temple. Irene invests thousands of dollars into collecting a wide variety of dolls. Then, in 1977, her husband, john sr. , dies of respiratory failure at the age of 63. Irenes obsession with dolls only grows after her husbands death. That worries her little sister juanita. Id say, irene, do you know what a mess your house is in . And shed say, its my house. Juanita asks her daughter emma and her granddaughter lori to go to irenes house and conduct a head count. A census might be more like it. Are their hundreds of dolls . A thousand . Many thousands . I was shocked, and i know lori was. Oh, my gosh. Really shocked. Thats next. But first, our strange inheritance quiz question. The worlds priciest doll is the 6 million clockwork loiseleur doll. What makes it so special it was owned by marie antoinette, it was the barbie prototype, or because it has thousands of moving parts . The answer in a moment. Building a website in under an hour is easy with gocentral. From godaddy in fact, 68 of people who have built their. Website using gocentral, did it in under an hour, and you can too. Build a better website in under an hour. With gocentral from godaddy. So, what makes the 6 million clockwork loiseleur doll so special . The answer is c. The fourfoot tall french doll is also known as the bird trainer, and has more than 2,300 gilt or steel parts. John walls mother, irene, had always promised to leave him with a strange inheritance her extensive collection of dolls. Maybe promise is the wrong word. Threaten is more like it. Didnt you ever wish your mom bought half as many dolls and put the other half in a bank account for you . Oh, yes. It would have been sure enough easier. But, then again, maybe she wanted my inheritance to be a bit of a challenge. I dont know. By 1990, no one knows exactly how many dolls irenes collected in her house in portales, new mexico, and she shows no sign of slowing down. Irenes younger sister juanita enlists her daughter emma and granddaughter lori to visit aunt irene and, while theyre there, find out just how many dolls she has. I was shocked, and i know lori was. Oh, my gosh. Really shocked. The first room we tackled, you had to suck up, yes. [ laughs ]. To walk around. Right. We knocked some dolls off while we were counting. I was like, oh, my gosh. I dont know if this is collecting or hoarding. Ive never seen anybody with that many dolls. Emma and lori are flabbergasted to see dolls packed like sardines occupying every room in the house. Were counting one by one, and were just overwhelmed. The final tally for irenes collection . Over 5,000 dolls its time for an intervention. Enough was enough on the doll collection. I had to sit down and speak with her about the matter. And it was hard. Irene is fiercely opposed to just throwing away her lifelong collection. Nextdoor neighbor suzy nuchols comes to the rescue. I do a lot of ebay, and so he knew that because were neighbors, and we just decided, lets do it. And we went to his moms house, and it was full of dolls. Everywhere you looked. And so we started just looking them up and just getting an idea. One of the first things they learn on ebay irene wall isnt the only one obsessed with dolls. There are some people that are on there continuously watching these dolls. Its amazing. Dolls are scooped up by buyers from all over the world. One of irenes favorites, a german celluloid doll likely a gift from a returning world war ii vet is bought for 225. John and his wife lynn are mesmerized by the bidding process. It sometimes would get down to the last five minutes, for sure, then those prices would just run through the ceiling. And lynn thought it was kind of like playing the slot machine. Over the summer of 2007, they sell about 60 dolls to online bidders for a total of 15,000. And mama was happy. I could tell by the look in her eye, the amazement, was, i told you so. But out of 5,000plus, its not even a dent in the collection. Then, in april 2010, johns beloved wife, lynn, passes away at the age of 57. 18 months later, his mother, irene, dies, too, at 90. I lost mother, and i lost lynn to. Phew [voice breaking]. Cancer. And thats the hardest thing ive told people youll ever lose. Is a wife and a mother. His children are grown up and on their own, leaving john with more than 4,000 dolls to sell to keep his promise to his mom. Now john gets help from a second lady friend. Patty beggs, who, like john, has also suffered the death of a spouse. Did john ask you for help . Oh, no. We just was there for each other, and he needed help. I dont know if he asked or if i volunteered, but we just started doing it. I mean, we had to do something with them. Between suzy and patty, it just seems as if women like coming to johns rescue. [ laughing ] those dolls ended up helping you out in those young days. And evidently it did. I was around some awfully nice girls in my life. In 2011, john and patty actually start dating. With pattys help, john rents a storefront in downtown portales from thanksgiving until christmas, and calls it the dollhouse. The dolls sell like hot cakes, some for 1, some for 10. It went really well. We had lots of people in, because everybody wanted to buy the dolls, hear the story. And meet john . But he was mine at that time, so they couldnt have him. [ laughs ] i like that. You must have a reputation around town . They call me the doll boy. [ laughs ] hows that working out for you . Once everything started going, with both ebay and the dollhouse, i thought, you can call me whatever you want. I dont care. Ive got a pretty good inheritance here, boys. And john does make a tidy sum 5,000 on the store. Add that to the 15,000 from ebay, and hes liquidated the bulk of his moms doll collection for 20,0000. But his job isnt over. John still has close to 1,000 dolls stacked in his barn that hes yet to unload. Will selling the doll collection help your life . It will help me to know that ive fulfilled what my mother asked of me. Well, if thats whats important to you, johnny, i want to help. Oh, i would love that more than anything. There is a few of them out there you might like to see, too. Oooh do you like barbies . There are 19 boxes of solid barbies. Barbie . yes thats next. Heres another quiz question for you. Which of these toys sold for the highest price at auction was it the 1963 g. I. Joe prototype, a diamond barbie, or a goldplated nintendo wii . The answer in a moment. Retail. Under pressure like never before. And its connected technology thats moving companies forward fast. Ecommerce. Real time inventory. Virtual changing rooms. Thats why retailers rely on comcast business to deliver consistent Network Speed across multiple locations. Every corporate office, warehouse and store near or far covered. Leaving every competitor, threat and challenge outmaneuvered. Comcast business outmaneuver. So, which of these specialedition toys sold for the highest price at auction . The answer is b, the canturi diamond barbie, which sports a fourcarat pinkandwhite diamond necklace. It sold for over 300,000 in 2010. John walls mother leaves him a strange inheritance more than 5,000 dolls from all over the world. Now hes taking me out to his barn to show me the last of his mothers collection, and what he believes may be the cream of the crop. Johns hopeful the rest of his mothers dolls are worth one more big payday. Close to 500 of these barbies, still in their original boxes. Johnny i knew thered be one just for me. Seriously . Sagittarius barbie i am a sagittarius. You know what . Earrings check. Evening gown check. Beautiful silky hair check. This is me its everything, yes. And you have almost 500 of these barbies . Thats almost too much barbie for a girl. Yes. And i know someone that may be able to tell us what its worth. To help john out, we contact tim luke of the treasure quest Appraisal Group based in south beach, florida. Heres tim. Hes the former director of the Collectibles Department at the famed christies auction house in new york. I understand youve got a great collection. Tim has agreed to help appraise johns strange inheritance. You looked at all these barbies. I really need your opinion. Well, barbies a cultural icon. I think that today you see a lot of people that are in their 40s and over, thats the demographic that is really holding onto this. Its that nostalgia. Barbies dream house in 1959, the first year of production, mattel sold more than 300,000 barbies, and a First Edition can go for about 8,000 today. Suntan barbie. Yes, her features are a tad unrealistic, but shes a Strong Female character, beautiful, powerful, and rich. And thats what attracts collectors. How do you tell what year a barbie is made . Well, the very first year that they came out, mattel had to recall and change. They had to soften her features because she looked too much like a, um. Lady of the night. And the mothers. Oh, my yeah. The mothers, they just uproar because of the eyeliner and shadow. And the numberones will have a hole in the foot, both feet, because there was a stand that barbie came on. There are ken dolls here, too. [ laughs ] is ken more valuable than barbie . No. He doesnt even rate. Im thinking, and they call john doll boy . Sounds like tims just the guy to tell us what johns collection is really worth. My mothers thoughts were that it was worth over 25,000 for that barbie collection alone. Johnny, the most important thing is to fulfill mothers wish. Will it be the payday john is hoping for . Thats next. Imagine no possessions i wonder if you can no need for greed or hunger a brotherhood of man imagine all the people sharing all the world. You, you may say im a dreamer but im not the only one i hope some day youll join us and the world will live as one now back to strange inheritance. Heres tim. John wall is hoping doll expert tim luke can give him some good news about the value of his remaining inheritance about 500 mintcondition barbies, all in their original boxes. Of the 5,000 dolls his mother collected, this is the bulk of whats left. Tim, we went through all these barbies. Theres plenty of them. You have to have an opinion. The downside is that most of them are from the 90s. But they say collector. They do. [ sighs ] and dont be seduced by the box. So, let me stop you there. Youre saying that this barbie, this is a reproduction. This is the 50th anniversary, but this came out in the 90s as a celebration of the 50th anniversary. Not as valuable. Johnny told me he thinks 10,000 to 15,000, maybe 25,000 for all of this. How off the mark is he . I think hes close to the lower end. Tim thinks john can still make about 10,000 with a good strategy. I think the best way to do this is to put these on ebay, because its worldwide. Somebody may only need one item for their collection, and theyre gonna pay a premium for it. Hello. Time to share the Expert Opinion with the heir. Your mother had such a wonderful time putting this all together. What i suggest is that you put these on ebay. Theyre all salable, and they could all do well. John takes the sober appraisal of 10k like a man. What do you think mother would say . Well, shed say, we got to do what we got to, baby. [ laughs ] you know, lets move with it. Im here. I got my checkbook. I would like to take the last of that series, the sagittarius. Im thinking im going to offer 100. I think thats very fair. But if you wanted to step up and offer him 200. Hell no im not overpaying. [ laughter ] hey, well have an auction. Wait a minute. Well do an auction. I know. Im looking out for my client here. Oh before i go, i get my barbie sagittarius, and i ask john if he plans to save any of his mothers other dolls. He says just a few, in particular those fragile japanese dolls from world war ii, a reminder of how his mother started collecting them in the first place. I kept going back to what my mom told about them, to please respect it as an inheritance. Ive did everything i can to do it in a way that is respectful to her wishes. And heres a note to those of you who might want to start a barbie collection of your own to tell when a vintage barbie was manufactured, you have to. Well, you have to take a look under her dress. In the back. In the early days, when barbie was made in japan, the year each model was created got stamped on her right buttock. Now thats a pretty private hiding place, proving that barbies age is really no ones business but her own. Im jamie colby for strange inheritance. 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 ball club older than mighty casey. They were recognized as the best team of the 1860s. Their 155yearold Baseball Card. We are looking at a very significant piece of baseball history here. And shes looking at a very strange inheritance. Hes my greatgreatuncle on my dads side. Which one is he . Now heres the payoff pitch. One of the big ones. This was a family heirloom. Will there be joy in mudville. He was looking for a piece of the action, but i didnt know that. With jamie at the bat . [ door creaks ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ] [ bird caws ] im jamie colby, and im in the berkshire mountains on my way to great barrington, massachusetts. Im meeting a woman whose ancestor played on one of the great teams in the early days of baseball. His picture is on her strange inheritance, which may just be the worlds oldest Baseball Card. My name is Florence Sasso. My greatgreatuncle Archibald Mcmahon was a member of the 1860s atlantic nine Baseball Team. I inherited this card from my mother when she passed away. Hi. Im jamie. Hi. Im florence. Heard you have a great story and a very strange inheritance. Also heard youre a new york girl. Yes. Im from queens. Im a brooklyn girl. Uhoh. 75yearold flo lives alone and runs an electrolysis business from her house. What a lovely home. She explains that fate has handed her a very unusual inheritance in the form of a 2 1 2by4inch antique Baseball Card. Oh, my goodness. Is this what i think it is, florence . May i touch it . Sure. Look at the players. 1860. Before the civil war. And a relative of yours is in here . My greatgreatuncle Archibald Mcmahon is in here. Which one is he . We dont know. It hasnt been identified. Well, can you make a guess on which one he might be . Is there any resemblance to you or your parents . No. I couldnt figure it out. I was just looking at the ears, because that side of the family had big ears. Who were the Brooklyn Atlantics . I think its the oldest Baseball Team in history in brooklyn. At least one of the oldest, says ed elmore, captain of todays incarnation of the Brooklyn Atlantics. So Brooklyn Atlantics started when . They played a long time. They were recognized as the best team of the 1860s. Baseball before the civil war . You can look it up. The first officially recorded game is actually played in 1846. And within 15 years, the sport is on the verge of a boom. These guys practicing today in long island, new york, use the same rules and equipment as old archibald did back then. Was pitching different . The first 40 years, actually, of baseball was underhand pitching. For the first 20 years, if a ball was caught on a bounce it was an out. It was thought of as a gentlemens game at the very beginning just by who was playing, not necessarily by how they played. So who is archie mcmahon . A butcher in brooklyn is about all flo knows. Thats a sign of how organized baseball is evolving and becoming more democratic. Its no longer just a game played by wealthier men doctors, lawyers, and bankers. And although flo cant identify which one of these gentlemen is that greatgreatuncle on her fathers side, we can i. D. Couple of his teammates. At far left is chris smith. Two men to the right is shortstop dickey pearce, whos credited with inventing the bunt. Looks like a straitjacket. Baseball uniforms have really changed over the years. I can see why. Got to love this cap, though. Take me out to the ballgame. So this is the bat. I see theyre not playing with gloves. What about the balls . Well, i have just the man to talk to for that. Wild horse. Wait. Wild horse . Thats his nickname. He runs the bases with wild abandon. You make those . I start with a rubber center, two cords of yarn. Everything was handmade. Ready . All right. Really . Oh, no. No gloves. Aah oh. It didnt hurt that bad. Have you heard of the name Archibald Mcmahon . Hes listed in the roster of the 1860 atlantics. Actually, he played center field, and he batted third. So thats an indication that he was one of the better hitters. After the 1860 season, however, he becomes a bit of an enigma. He may have played for a pro team in manhattan, but census records after the civil war show him working as a butcher in san francisco. After that, his only appearance in the Public Record is a mention in the 1928 obituary of his younger brother, john, a civil war veteran. In the obituary, it talks about his brother, how he loved baseball. The obituary reads, he had a picture in his home of the original atlantics team, of which his brother, Archibald Mcmahon, was a member. When they mention it in an obit, you know the card is a true family heirloom. Flos father, joseph, is 17 years old when his uncle john dies. It becomes his strange inheritance. But its his wife, mildred, who keeps it safe in their brooklyn home. My mother had had it in a fanny farmer box in a secret drawer in a piece of our furniture. When florence grows up, she moves to massachusetts, gets married, and then divorced. Over time, the family is drawn back together by old age and illness. Eventually, flo convinces her parents to move up to massachusetts and live with her. The fellow i was dating at the time was an architect, and he designed an addition for us. How much did that cost . 125,000. Did you have that money . No. I had to remortgage the house. Flos dad dies in 1995. Her mom, mildred, inherits the card. Mildred is well aware flo has gone into debt and wishes she could help. But it never strikes her that she has the means until greatgreatuncle archibald comes up in a genealogy class at the senior center. So he suggested that that card could be worth what . Thats next. But first, our strange inheritance quiz question. Who in 1888 declared baseball the american game . Queen victoria of england, indian chief sitting bull, or poet walt whitman . The answer in a moment. [baby talk] [child giggling] child look, ma. No hands. Children i, j, k. [bicycle bell rings] [indistinct chatter] [telephone rings] man hello . [boing] [laughter] man you may kiss the bride. [applause] woman ahh. [indistinct conversation] announcer a full life measured in seats starts with the right ones early on. Car crashes are a leading killer of children 1 to 13. Learn how to prevent deaths and injuries by using the right car seat for your childs age and size. So, who first declared baseball the american game . If you picked walt whitman, youre right. In 1888, he wrote. [ crowd cheering ] long before the brooklyn dodgers and ebbets field, these guys, known as the atlantics nine, are kings of that boroughs diamonds. This 155yearold picture of the team has been passed down in Florence Sassos family ever since. One of the teams stars, Archibald Mcmahon, was her greatgreatuncle. Flos mom, mildred, is caretaker of the card for years. She keeps it squirreled away in a candy box and takes it with her when she moves into flos house in great barrington, massachusetts. But neither she nor her daughter knows which guy in the picture is uncle archie. Whatd she tell you about it . She said, put this in with your genealogy. In the spring of 2015, flos been digging into their family background at the free Genealogy Program at the local senior center. So do you bring the card to show the class . I brought the card to the senior center. He said, oh, my god. Its perfect. He is volunteer steve strommer, who runs the class. My interest in genealogy started a long time ago. But its taken on a life of its own, and its pretty much an obsession. We couldnt find too much on archibald. But that was a very old card. And she said, how much is this . And i said, well, ill see if i can find out. Are you thinking to yourself, i really have something valuable here . Yes, i did. Especially after steve spots on the internet an 1865 Brooklyn Atlantics card. It had gone for 92,000 at auction in 2013. Florences card is five years older and may be even more valuable. I used to wonder, why do people jump up and down when something exciting happens . And here i was doing that. Pushing 101, flos mother, mildred, isnt quite jumping up and down. But if she can help pay off the addition flo built for her, shes definitely up for some moneyball. Florence, who has no children to pass the card on to, is game as well. Thats when steve strommer suggests contacting an auction house. On your behalf . Yes. He made the connection. I was just, you know, doing my job, just trying to facilitate getting this card in the right hands. Strommer takes the photo home, scans it, and sends it to chris ivy, who specializes in Sports Memorabilia at heritage auctions in dallas. When the first email came in with images, i showed it to one of my other experts. And we thought, it looks right from the images, and we are looking at a very significant piece of baseball history here. The photo was in good shape. And the overall condition of the card is very strong. Of course, its not exactly the kind of card later generations will collect with bubble gum and wax packs. There was no bubble gum involved with this card, no. I dont think bubble gum was around, actually, until the early 1900s. Its considered a carte de visite, a cdv. A carte de visite, or cdv, was more like a Business Card or a souvenir handout at a time when photography was still a novelty. I think it was because they were the champions of the league and were proud of that and wanted something to commemorate it. While chris and his team evaluate the card, florence feels steves way off base. Hes taken control not only of the process but the card itself. I think this next part of the story goes under the heading dont mess with a girl from brooklyn. Was he looking for a piece of the action . He was looking for piece of the action, but i didnt know that. I went down to his house, and i said, my mother would like to have the photograph back. And he said, oh, its safe with me. And i said, no, and id like to give you some money for the work that you did at home. And he said no. If there was any disconnect, it was with flo, who, i guess, wanted to know if i was going to charge her anything. And she kept asking me quite often, you know, keep track of your hours. I said, just give me back the picture. And then, she would say, i have to talk to my lawyer, and all of that. And i said, fine with me. You had to get that card back. Yes. Thats next. Heres another quiz question for you. Its a timeworn tradition, but who was the first president to invite a professional Baseball Team to the white house . Was it coolidge, taft, or grant . The answer in a moment. Is this a phone . Or a little internet machine . [ phone rings ] it makes you wonder. Shouldnt we get our phones and internet from the same company . Thats why Xfinity Mobile comes with your internet. You get up to 5 lines of talk and text at no extra cost. So all you pay for is data. Choose by the gig or unlimited. And ask how to get a 200 prepaid card when you buy any new samsung device with Xfinity Mobile. A new kind of network designed to save you money. Click, call or visit today. So, who was the first president to invite a professional Baseball Team to the white house . Its ulysses s. Grant. The Cincinnati Red stockings, the first professional team, were grants guests in june 1869. Spring 2015, great barrington, massachusetts, and lifes thrown Florence Sasso a curveball. Shes in a feud with steve strommer, the genealogy instructor at her local senior center. And i went to the doctor. They doubled my bloodpressure medication cause i was so upset about him. Shes taken a family heirloom, this 1860 Baseball Card of the Brooklyn Atlantics, which includes her greatgreatuncle Archibald Mcmahon, and given it to steve. It may be the oldest Baseball Card in existence. And hes researching its value. But it appears to florence that he doesnt want to give it back. You went yourself to the gentlemans house to get it . Yes. He really wanted to hold on to it. But i didnt trust him with it. So essentially, he was trying to help you. He just wanted to be paid. Yes. I may have half tongueincheek, half joking, said, well, im your agent. 10 . But i wasnt really gonna charge her with that. You didnt want to pay him. I was going to give him a generous gift. But youre not allowed to give them even five cents if theyre a volunteer of the town. At this point, both steve and florence learned that town employees may not receive additional income from their official duties. The interaction that was going on about being reimbursed was prior to my knowledge about the ethics of town employees taking money. So steve gives the photo back to florence. Having benched steve, she reaches out herself to heritage auctions. A representative flies to massachusetts to bring the card in for authentication. Heritage shows up at your house. Within 24 hours. But while the auction house gets to work, flos mother is admitted to the hospital with pneumonia. May 13th. She was 100 and sound of mind right till the end. And every night, she would just say, thank you for taking care of me, and then a big smile, and shed say, did we get the money yet . Later that day, Mildred Sasso passes on. And what may be the worlds oldest Baseball Card is now florences strange inheritance. It doesnt take long to confirm the card is real. Given the fact that it was in florences family for nearly 160 years, thats great provenance. And provenance is always key. The 1928 obituary of archibalds brother, john, provides a crucial piece of evidence of the cards authenticity. That newspaper obituary noted that john was an ardent fan of baseball and he had an original photo of the Brooklyn Atlantics. So that obituary was referring to this very card. Remember the 1865 Brooklyn Atlantics card that sold for 92,000 . That kind of money would go a long way to paying off the debt flo incurred when she took in her parents. Is her card in that ballpark . Chris ivy thinks it is and knows exactly where to find out. One of the big ones. This was a family heirloom. Thats next. So is this. All right. Lets send one down the pike. Lets see what you got. Whats your strange inheritance story . Wed love to tell it. Send me an email or go to our website strangeinheritance. Com. My business was going nowhere. So i built this kickin new website with godaddy. Building a website in under an hour is easy 68 of people. Who have built their website using gocentral, did it in. Under an hour, and you can too. Type in your business or idea. Pick your favourite design. Personalize it with beautiful images. And. Youre done and now business is booming. Harriet, its a double stitch not a cross stitch build a better website in under an hour. Free to try. No credit card required. Gocentral from godaddy. Look into my eyes you will see what you mean to me dont tell me its not worth trying for you know its true everything i do i do it for you yeah, i would fight for you id lie for you walk the wire for you yeah, id die for you you know its true everything i do i do it for you now back to strange inheritance. In 1860, Florence Sassos greatgreatuncle and his teammates on the Brooklyn Atlantics posed for this photo. 155 years later, it may be the oldest Baseball Card in existence. Florence is about to learn just how valuable that makes it. The auction house estimates its value at 50 grandplus. That would help cover the 125,000 she spent remodeling her home to make room for her elderly parents. Then again, another Brooklyn Atlantics card recently went for 92,000. An extra 40 grand would really help. In july 2015, enthusiasts from around the country gather in chicago for the National Sports collectors convention. 9,500. Now to 10,000. Where are my cubs fans now . The highlight of the auction flos 2 1 2by4inch strange inheritance featuring the precivil war Brooklyn Atlantics. One of the big ones. This was a family heirloom. How proud are you when you see your family card in a catalog . Everybody was so excited because they didnt know about baseball before the civil war. And it was a bit of brooklyn that you could bring to this town. Thats right. You can follow the auction online, but florence is having computer problems. Even so, she feels the same nervous anticipation palpable in that room. Earliest known team card that were aware of. What do we have for lot 009 . 70,000. 70,000. This is gonna go big. 70,000. Now to go to 75,000. From the start, the bidding is fierce. Weve got captains of industry and people that are millionaires, billionaires. Its just people that have a passion to collect things. 85,000. Now to bid 90,000. 95,000 to you, sir. I go you. 100,000. Now to 110,000. Like a sandy koufax fastball, the bidding quickly blows away the 50,000 estimate. 110,000. Now to 120,000. This is really a smithsoniantype piece here. 120,000. Now to 130,000. Most collectors go into a live auction with a game plan. But you can get enthralled with the moment. So, you know, throw caution to the wind and start bidding. 130,000. Now to 140,000. 150,000. Now to 160,000. You want 155,000 . You gonna walk away for five grand . 150,000. Ive got it right here. Whos gonna beat him . 150,000. Anyone else . 150,000. Bid 160,000 . Whos gonna beat him . Anyone else now . Anyone else . To white. 150,000. [ applause ] thanks very much. After the auction House Commission is added, it brings the total to 179,000. And the winning bidder . A wellknown 19thcentury collector, but he didnt want to be revealed. The good news comes to florence from a surprising source. Howd you learn about it selling . Steve, the genealogist, was following it on the internet. I saw the very end of the bidding for the card. And i called up flo right away and said, this is great. And he called to say it was sold for 179,000. That beats flos wildest expectations. I was just hoping to clear my mortgage, actually. So basically, the money that youll get from your family card will help you defer the cost of taking care of mom and dad. Almost to the penny. Are you resolved now that whatever happened in the past is the past . Absolutely. It worked out okay . Im very happy. So is steve strommer, that he and flo are friends again. Were like brother and sister, basically. You know, she comes in. Well go through a little bit of genealogy, find what happened to Archibald Mcmahon. And maybe someday theyll even figure out which one of these guys really is old uncle archie. So what ever became of the old Brooklyn Atlantic dynasty . Up until 1869, all the players were amateurs. Two years later, the National Association of professional base ball players was formed. But the atlantics couldnt afford the cost of the new league, so they didnt join. Some of their best players took a walk and signed up with pro teams. I dont get to walk. I got to hit the ball. All right. Lets send one down the pike. Lets see what you got. Oh. Im jamie colby for strange inheritance. And remember you cant take it with you. Join us tomorrow for the president s rally in pensacola. Kennedy senator al franken announces his resignation but he never apologized. Potentially big new developments in the mueller investigation. And bitcoin now worth more than 16,000. Why is it is mowing why is it exploding in value . Brian brenberg is here. Al fringen announced his resignation and delivered a creep insurance policy to his