Importance of Provenance

[rainier2004]

So I don't collect high grade anything, I wouldn't know a psa 8 if it bit me where the Sun don't shine. I collect rarities, items that have less than 20 known examples from the pre-ww1 era.

I do my own check, I check with others and if everything pans out I am good. I honestly couldn't care less about provenance in any way, shape or form...it just doesn't matter to me as long as it passes my personal checks. Its just cards...

[drcy]

As a photograph guy, an example of provenance being helpful is when you have a photo with a famous image but without any photographers stamp on it. In cases, the provenance, or sales history, shows or gives evidence that it is by the famous photographer. For example, provenance can show it came from the archives of the magazine he worked for or even his estate. In one case, I had unstamped photographs by a famous photographer where the photos came from his landlord who sold his effects when the photographer left the country without paying his due rent. I later talked to the photographer and he acknowledged that the photos had been his. He didn't ask for the photos back, but did ask me to scan them for him.

But, obviously. this is a case where provenance is important to identification and authenticity, not condition grade or historical prestige (other than as it relates to authentication).

My philosophy on cards is if it's only worth something if it's graded 9 or 10, it's probably not much of a card.