Im jamie colby, and today im strolling along the swanky streets of the Upper East Side of manhattan. The heir in this story reached out to us just a short time after her husband died. She wanted to talk about her strange inheritance, which she tells me takes up an entire room in her home. My name is carole postal, and less than one year ago, i lost my beloved husband, bob. He left me nearly 10,000 toy soldiers, which he called the guys. A whole room on the Upper East Side im hoping its shoes. Uh, not quite. No way. Its not shoes. Its soldiers . Across glass shelves, the tiny troops stand shoulder to shoulder, ready for battle. Lets see. Theres george washington. Generals robert e. Lee and ulysses s. Grant. Not to mention ancient and medieval warriors. A history of world combat in one jampacked man cave. Your husband mustve spent a lot of time putting this together. Lovingly, over 40 years. Its really magnificent. I really did need to see this. You were right to get in touch with us. Oh, im so glad you feel that way. I would love to learn more about it. Id love to share that with you. Can we sit and talk . Id love it. Carole tells me her late husband, bob postal, was born in 1940 in the gulf coast town of pascagoula, mississippi, where his father ran a garment factory. A shy, intense, and artistic kid, he kept to himself. He used to go into his room and draw. And he loved drawing military costumes. And he loved drawing battle reenactments. As a young man, bob stops drawing soldiers and becomes one. He skips college, joins the army reserves, and in 1963, is stationed at fort dix in new jersey as a cook. Hes never sent to vietnam. After an Honorable Discharge in 1969, bob follows in his fathers footsteps and jumps into the apparel business in new york city, designing womens blouses for a clothing manufacturer. Bob had a definite keen eye for what would sell, for what was hot at the time. He was very visionary. He was a workaholic. James moore worked with bob during the 1970s and 1980s. He saw bobs career boom, while his personal life went bust three divorces by his early 40s. One thing that does last is his new hobby toy soldiers. His collection is his passion. When i first saw it, i was absolutely amazed. He had every soldier placed in their position. Every general was placed in his position. And i said, bob, i cannot fathom how you do this, knowing you at work and how impatient he was how can you actually do this . And he said, this is my relaxation. Bob pays 4 grand for this set of more than 100 world war i figures, most from the renowned welsh toysoldier maker trophy miniatures. These swordwielding knights of the crusades, some from russias famed st. Petersburg collection, for 3k. And a rare nonwar piece the irish state coach used by the British Royal family a steal at 300 bucks. Meanwhile, bob starts his own apparel firm, mayfair industries. It takes off in 1984, when he strikes a deal with the Walt Disney Company to license a little mouse for use on clothing. So, he was a pioneer in the industry . He was. He was a pioneer. The company went from 5 million to 110 million almost overnight. A few years later, bob comes calling on carole, who works in licensing for turner broadcasting. Hes looking to secure the apparel rights to the film classic the wizard of oz. He needed to get the license from me. And he walked into my office at 7 30 in the morning, and we locked eyes, and he never left. We were together from that day onward. Was it love at first sight . It was instantaneous combustion. Wow that was quite a meeting. Changed your life. It did robert and carole move quickly. First, dating, then its time to introduce her to his little friends. When we moved into the apartment, i said, why do we need a twobedroom . We need a room for the guys. Roommates . Well. And the next thing i know, boxes and boxes and boxes of soldiers are coming into the door. Some girls might go into full retreat. Not carole. The couple marry a year later. Bob keeps collecting. Did you ever say not one more solider in this house. Enough . He could collect as many as his little heart desires, as far as i was concerned, as long as it didnt step out of the soldier room. Was it an obsession or just a genuine interest . It was not an obsession. It was a respect. In 1989, bob receives a sign of respect himself from billionaire publisher Malcolm Forbes, whose 100,000soldier collection is one of the worlds finest. Forbes hosts an exclusive toysoldier event, and bobs invited. Was that a huge moment for him . I think, for anybody who has a passion for a hobby and they meet the. Premier. Its something thats very special. He sort of legitimized the whole Collector Society of soldiers. After forbes death, bob is asked to another invitationonly toysoldier event the auction at christies of the forbes collection, in 1997. Was there any way he was missing the auction of Malcolm Forbes soldiers . No way he was missing that auction. The auction brings in a whopping 700,000. Too rich for bobs blood, though he does walk away with an exclusive souvenir. He purchased a memento the solider that said i attended the Malcolm Forbes auction. Bob continues buying rare soldiers into his 70s. His miniature armies now number nearly 10,000. But by 2014, bobs health is in steep decline. Hes diagnosed with advanced emphysema and confined to quarters with his troops. How important were the guys at the end . Very important. He would sit in that room seven days a week, surrounded by his soldiers. That made him happy. Maybe so, but bob doesnt want his wife to have to figure out what to do with them once hes gone. Did he tell you what to do . He did not want to leave me with the soldiers. Bob wanted to sell off the collection so carole wouldnt have to deal with it. Meet the man bob drafts to decommission his army. When i first walked into this room, i was just kind of in awe. cause theres some diehard collectors that would really just die to have some of these sets. Thats next. But first, our strange inheritance quiz question. The answer after the break. Its a highly contagious disease that can be really serious. Especially for my precious new grandchild. Its whooping cough. Every family member, including those around new babies, should talk to their doctor or pharmacist about getting vaccinated. Too many children in this neighborhood do not graduate from high school. The kids after school, they are alone and they have nowhere to go and we tried to solve that problem by having this wonderful place where they can be children. Wtef is the washington tennis and education foundation. We help the kids with their academics, and we teach them tennis. We have retired teachers doing the tutoring and theyre here every day. Wtef is the sole beneficiary of the citi open® tournament. Since citi® has become the sponsor of this tournament, citi® has helped us raise more funds. That means we are able to serve more children. Im so proud of the fact that 100 of the students in wtef graduate from high school. These kids are keeping the ball inside the lines. Inside the lines. So, which toy soldier was the single most expensive one ever sold . Its a. A rare 1934 prototype marching guard was sold at a christies auction in 1994 for 4,370. Its 2015, and 75yearold robert postal, suffering from advanced emphysema, is getting his affairs in order. A top priority is the 10,000 highend toy soldiers he spent 40 years collecting. Theyre meticulously displayed in his manhattan soldier room. He doesnt want to leave his wife the headache of dealing with then after he dies. So he hires a hobbystore owner, matt murphy, to catalog, appraise, and prepare the troops for sale. What wars are represented . We have world war ii. American civil war. Napoleonic wars. The sudan campaign. Zulu war. We have two shelves of zulu war. What makes bobs army valuable, according to matt, is that he focused his energy on completing many sets from highend soldier makers, such as stanton studios, king country, and w. Britain. Another really soughtafter brand is trophy miniatures, made in wales. A set of six would sell for about 100, and now they can fetch up to 300 on ebay. Matt says this trophy miniature would go for 500 bucks. Its a tractor for transporting troops during the boer wars in africa. This british nile riverboat, used during the 19th century 1,500. Before matt can go through every piece, however, robert dies, at home, in september 2015, surrounded by all his guys. Hes 75 years old. Were you prepared to live life without him . No. I never thought it would come. And, so, youre faced with a dilemma. Youre left with the guys the soldiers. Then, just days after her husbands funeral, at the suggestion of a friend, carole tunes in to an episode of strange inheritance. As chance would have it. Whos this guy . She catches our Previous Story about a family and their toysoldier inheritance. Carole, what did you think when you saw the strange inheritance episode about toy soldiers . I was knocked out. I was thrilled to see other people enjoying a passion for collecting soldiers. Unlike bob postal, the husband and father in that story really wanted his toysoldier collection displayed in its own museum. His children found it a bridge too far. But the episode gets our heir thinking. So, i reached out. Here we are. Ill do what i can to help. What is this place, here . Were surrounded by about 3 million soldiers. Thats incredible. Thats next. Heres another quiz question for you. The answer when we return. Potsch you each drive a ford pickup, right . in unison russ, leland, gary yes. Gary i have a ford f150. Michael ive always been a ford guy. Potsch then i have a real treat for you today. Michael awesome. Potsch im going to show you a next generation pickup. Michael lets do this. Potsch this new truck now has a cornerstep built right into the bumper. Gary super cool. Potsch the bed is made of highstrength steel, which is less susceptible to punctures than aluminum. Jim aluminum is great for a lot of things, but maybe not the bed of a truck. Potsch and best of all, this new truck is actually gary all laughing oh my. Potsch the current chevy silverado. Gary im speechless. Gary this puts my ford truck to shame. James ill tell you, i might be a chevy guy now. laughing track your pack. Set a curfew, or two. Make dinnertime device free. [ music stops ] [ music plays again ] a smarter way to wifi is awesome. Introducing xfinity xfi. Amazing speed, coverage and control. Change the way you wifi. Xfinity. The future of awesome. So, which of these Popular Figures had a large toysoldier collection as a child . Its a, winston churchill. Churchills army numbered 1,500 pieces, which he used to reenact british victories over the french. When new york apparel executive robert postal dies in 2015, he leaves his widow, carole, his vast array of nearly 10,000 toy soldiers. Before his death, he encouraged his wife to sell, but to whom . How big is the market today . Market is, we would probably guess 50,000 people worldwide collect soldiers seriously, so its tiny. Its a niche of a niche. Jamie delson, owner of the 9,000squarefoot toy soldier company in jersey city, new jersey. Im here doing some reconnaissance for carole. This is the Worlds Largest warehouse that holds toy soldiers. We have about 3 or 4 million soldiers here. Some are plastic, some metal, and valuable classics cast in lead. People who collect plastics will spend 20 or 50 at a time. People who collect metals will spend 2,000 or 3,000 at the drop of a hat. People who collect the most expensive soldiers may pay 200, 500, or 1,000 for a single soldier. Jamie tells me that not having original boxes can lower values anywhere from 50 to 75 . This is what collectors look for. Serious collectors buy things that are in the box, in original boxes from the 1940s, 30s, 50s just because its in the box, and if you look closely, theyre sewn into the box. So these guys are still strapped in, never touched or taken out. Right. No box, not a lot of value. Not a lot of fun, either. Then again, how many bedrooms the postals would have needed if bob kept all the boxes boxes or not, matt murphy, the hobbyshop owner bob hired to get the guys ready for sale, says it is plenty valuable. Could you put a price on this collection . The toysoldier market is a little down right now. But it could fetch anywhere between 85,000 to maybe 130,000. But those numbers are based on retail prices, so matt can only offer carole 25,000 if he wants to guarantee himself a profit. I do think like that. Obviously, im in business. Thats a far cry from the 700,000 the Malcolm Forbes soldiers fetched at auction back in 1997. But caroles not insulted. More and more, strange inheritance gets her thinking. Its not about the money for her. I dont want the cash. I dont want it. I want this to be his legacy to keep them together, and i want to donate them so that other people could enjoy his collection as much as he did. But what if nobodys interested . Or as interested as he was . Thats next. Whats your strange inheritance story . We would love to tell it. Send me an email or go to our website, strangeinheritance. Com. Parodontax, the toothpaste that helps prevent bleeding gums. If you spit blood when you brush or floss you may have gum problems and could be on the journey to much worse. Help stop the journey of gum disease. Try parodontax toothpaste. And lifes beautiful moments. Ns get between you flonase outperforms the 1 nondrowsy allergy pill. It helps block 6 key inflammatory substances that cause symptoms. Pills block one and 6 is greater than 1. Flonase changes everything. Cameras. Introducing the newly redesigned gla suv. At a price thatll make you feel like youve gotten away with something. The 2018 gla. Lease the gla250 for 359 a month at your local mercedesbenz dealer. Mercedesbenz. The best or nothing. con artists. theyll try anything to get your Medicare Card number. So they can steal your identity, commit medicare fraud. What can you do . Guard your card . Guard your card . Just like your credit card. Nobody gets my number, unless i know they should have it. To protect your identity, new Medicare Cards without Social Security numbers will be mailed next year. Visit medicare. Gov fraud stay sharp people now back to strange inheritance. Before he died, robert postal had planned for his wife, carole, to sell his prized collection of 10,000 rare and valuable toy soldiers. But after watching a strange inheritance episode about toy soldier heirs, carole maps out a different course. She wants to find an institution to display them, in honor of her husband. For that, she needs another kind of advice. What was your initial impression of this collection . Oh, i love it. Its one of the biggest collections in the world. Reporting for duty lee drexler, an appraiser who helps clients find good homes for their bequests. Step 1 is certifying a fairmarket value. Right, the teeth on the horse. And the bridle. I just love seeing the big collections of custers last stand or civil war or world war ii or the american revolution. I mean, its fantastic. Honest abe, whats he worth . Probably about 450, 500. Lee says thats because this 6inch, highlydetailed lincoln figure was made in england by the renowned stadden studios. Whats this collection worth . About 300,000. For toy soldiers . 300,000 . if accurate, thats far more, manforman, than even the forbes collection and 12 times the 25k that matt murphy was offering. And it would certainly give me second thoughts about giving them away. What about carole . Its impressive, yes. So if it is worth that much, then im thrilled. But it wasnt ever about the money. Having the soldiers find a home will be a huge part that will make me feel whole again. So carole and lee begin contacting new yorkbased museums that might be interested in housing and displaying the troops. Our first thought, quite frankly, was west point. Bob had tremendous respect for the institution. What did they say . They said no, they couldnt, with great sadness. They have no space. As quickly as the door closed at west point, lee opens one at another Prestigious Institution the New York Historical society. If the New York Historical society were to make this happen for you, what would that mean . Theyd be in new york, where people come from all over the world. It would be a fabulous, fabulous place. And your reaction if they say game on . Done. And game on it is. The society does agree to give safe harbor to 5,000 of the guys. If you split this collection up between museums, it would be easier, potentially, for them to take and more people could see it. It would be double the joy. With lees help, a Childrens Museum in rochester, new york, agrees to take in and display the other half of the collection. Carole tells me that working with us on this episode has helped her to grieve for robert and, in doing so, to preserve his legacy. Thats why i reached out to you. It is my hope that people see this show and see a passion that somebody had for, in this case, soldiers, and so what i leave to the world is the robert c. Postal soldier legacy collection. So, you never felt like you were competing with the guys . Never. I was always number one. Thats so nice to know. I wish it on everybody. Remember that story about bob meeting Malcolm Forbes at a toysoldier show . Carole says it was one of his most treasured memories. The confederate soldier he later purchased commemorating the forbes collection remained one of bobs favorites. And right before her husband was laid to rest, carole slipped that very soldier into his suit pocket. Im jamie colby. Thanks so much for watching strange inheritance. I guess sometimes you can take it with you. Im bob massi. For 32 years, ive been practicing law and living in las vegas. I help people with all sorts of realestate problems, from trying to save their homes to closing major deals. Eight years ago, 6,000 people a month moved here, looking for employment and affordable homes. Little did anyone know that we would become ground zero for the american realestate crisis. Now, its a different story. The American Dream is back. Were gonna meet real people who faced the same problems as millions across america, and well dive deep into a city on the rebound because las vegas was a microcosm of america, and now vegas is back. [ woman vocalizing ]