I think there are two different kinds of provenance. One is the "noted collector" provenance where someone wants a card b/c it is identified as having been in the collection of Nagy, Carter, etc. It doesn't really matter where the cards were *before* getting to the famous collector (note that some of these famous collections included trimmed cards). What matters is that the card can be conclusively identified as once having belonged to a famous collector.
This kind of provenance matters to some, not others.
The second kind of provenance is anonymous but may tell you something about the state, history or path of the card. You can have a raw card that has been through a long chain of "bought it from a guy who bought it from a guy who bought it from a guy", as noted above. Or you can have a card or collection that has been in a book on the end table or desk of someone who got it from his dad who personally collected the cards as a smoker at the turn of the century. So you know that the card has had two owners and is probably not trimmed (unless obviously to fit in a scrapbook or something).
I think people do care about the anonymous provenance that is short and easy to know b/c there are only one or two people in the whole chain going back to manufacture.
So ... I guess the answer to the question also depends on what kind of provenance is in play.
Joann
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