This collection consists of correspondence, financial records, property records, and other materials from the two major companies created and owned by Merle H. Collins (as well as a small amount from his third company, the Mississippi Valley Farms Company). The collection is divided into several series:

Bound Materials: This series contains ledgers, registers, and other compilations of financial information, as well as bound copies of legal proceedings in the lawsuit of Equitable Life Assurance Co. vs. the Collins Companies.

Financial Files: This series consists of various records relating to the Collins Companies' finances and financial transactions.

Foreclosure Files: This series is comprised of selected files relating to individual farm foreclosures, selected to provide examples of the types of materials and transactions involved in these sorts of activities.

General Files: Obviously, this series contains materials relating to a wide variety of subjects and activities. Much of the material in this series consists of correspondence, not only general, but that between the Collins Companies and its chief nemeses Equitable Life Assurance Co. and Cedar Rapids National Bank.

Legal Files: The Legal Files in the collection consist of legal documents, including bills of equity, witness testimonies and other materials relating to the various lawsuits in which the Collins Companies were engaged over the years. Most of the material relates to the federal suit filed against the Collins Companies by Equitable Life Assurance in 1933-1934.

Mortgage Files: This series consists of selected files relating to individual mortgagees. LIke the Foreclosure Files, these were sampled and selected from the mass of similar files to provide substantive examples of the types of materials and transactions invoved with Collins' customers.

Property Files: These files consists primarily of documents describing various farm properties mortgaged through CMC or CFC. Many of the files, consisting of correspondence, property descriptions, and inspection reports, were actually exhibits for the federal lawsuits filed against Collins by Equitable. Also included is one box of field survey books containing survey information for a number of different Collins farms.

Tax Files: This series consists primarily of tax returns and related records for Collins and his companies.

Oversize Materials: A few items, though organizationally attached to other series, are considered too large to place in the boxes with those series. Those items are shelved together at the end of the collection, in folders.