Posted By:
davidcyclebackLiterally, provenance means who owned the item.
Using a looser sense, I consider provenance any documentation of ownership, history and identity of the item. Does a PSA/DNA LOA prove that a Cap Anson signed baseball was owned by Anson as advertised? No. But, along with a letter from Anson's grandaughter, the LOA would help establish identity and history. If PSA/DNA said the signature was in in sharpie, their opinion would obviously say the famous history was false. So I consider LOAs, grading and such as documents that help establish history. The PSA/DNA LOA doesn't prove that the ball was owned by Anson, but supports the granddaughter's story. This is why I would consider a PSA/DNA LOA part of the provenance, or at least part of the documentation showing the provenance.