Importance of Provenance

[steve B]

Originally Posted by packs

I just can't think of a reason why provenance would be important for something issued in the tens of thousands or perhaps even millions.

Not everything was issued in huge quantities like that.

I can think of a couple instances where it could matter.

In the case of a card that's "new" or very nearly unknown. Like if someone turned up a T206 with a Hustler back. The provenance would matter since the card was listed probably by error years ago as a known back, but it's generally believed that they never existed.
Wouldn't you want to know as much as possible about where it's supposedly been since 1910?
If it's from some random guy would you trust it as much as if it came from the family of an early collector who traded at least a list with Burdick and had letters from him mentioning the card?


Or, a more common card.
Lets say you can afford and really want a nice green Cobb T206. You find one, but it was previously owned by someone who was a known card doctor.
say it's pretty high grade, maybe a 6 or 7.
How much do you trust it knowing that it was owned by someone who altered cards regularly?