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Old 07-13-2006, 11:29 AM
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Default Which collections should have provenance?

Posted By: davidcycleback

If a real name is used, listing an owner is a service to collectors. While someone might say "Where did that PSA 10 come from? Looks suspicious," the label may now show that it was owned by John Branca. In general, documenting provenance is better than not even if not aesthetically pleasing.

It's less important with baseball cards, as the average collector can judge authenticity of a 1952 Topps or 1982 Donruss. However, as a collector of modern photographs by famous photographers, provenance is important. It would be important that it can be shown that a photo came from the photographer, an employee of the magazine where he worked or an known expert collector. This type of provenance would help establish authenticity.

In the photo hobby, a photo will have higher financial value if it belonged to a famous person. So, whetever you think of his movies, Charlie Sheen provenance would add value to a quality photo. Sheen would be a past owner who is both a Hollywood actor and known to be a serious collector of authentic material. The latter alone would likely give a buyer more confidence when buying.

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