b"By Jim Olson,WesternTradingPost.comO ne picture of Billy the Kid is worthengraving, items made by guys who were hallmarking over two million dollars. Anotherback then will realize a premium in todays marketplace. is hardly worth anything. The differenceprovenance! According to theG.S. Garcia is a prime example. Most of the items dictionary, the word provenance is a nounproduced in his shop were marked with the hallmark of which means: 1. Origin or source; 2. Thehis shop and they bring top dollar today because we know history of ownership of a valued object orwhere they came from. We know he hired the best bit and work of art or literature.spur makers available and they put the G.S. Garcia brand on the items. However, some makers produced just as nice Why is provenance important toof items, but unless those items were marked, the ones collectors? First and foremost, it is themade and marked by the G.S. Garcia shop will bring more. act of being reasonably assured we knowMuch more! The reason? There is provenance (a hallmark) the origins of something in a recognized and generally accepted manner.tying the Garcia items to a certain point and place in history. It is not just Basically, being comfortable with the authenticity of an item. The more wespeculation or an, it sure looks like so-and-so's work, type of situation. are assured it is authentic, the more value the marketplace will allow for theThe market responds accordingly. item. So authenticity, which of course leads to value, is a great reason why provenance is important to collectors.Besides the importance of provenance with regards to who made a particular item, historical event provenance is also very important. An item A fine example of just how important provenance is - is the Billy the Kidthat can be tied to a certain event in history will always bring more than a photo example. There was an authenticated photo (the one and only) whichlike-kind item with no story behind it. But again, provenance is extremely sold at auction in 2011 for 2.3 million dollars! It had solid provenance.important. Just because it has a good story, or the seller says it was used There was a chain of ownership established back to the time it was taken.in a certain historical event, does not necessarily make it more valuable. A copy of the photograph appeared publicly on Jan. 8, 1881, in the BostonThe more evidence you have tying it to a particular event, the better the Illustrated Police News. Sheriff Pat Garrett used the image twice in hismarketplace will respond with regards to value. A good example of this book, The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid. The provenance was accepted asis a Colt Single Action Army revolver that had provenance tying it to the iron clad by the collecting world. battle of the Little Big Horn. One with such provenance sold at auction a few years back for $460,000! Meanwhile, a like-kind Colt SAA with U.S. On the other hand, there have been several other photographs whichmarkings and unknown historical ties will generally bring no more than some claim are also of Billy the Kid. Some even had pretty convincing$10,000 (depending on the condition that number can vary greatly). circumstantial evidence that they were Billy. But just because an old photo looks like him, does not convince the marketplace that it is him. Circumstantial evidence and looking similar to the authenticated photo is a good story, but a long way from convincing the marketplace to shell out big money for it. In this example, solid provenance is about a two million dollar difference of the value placed upon the items by the marketplace.Hallmarked vs. unsigned vintage and antique Native American jewelry is another great example. Most collectors of Native American silver know that much of it was not signed in the early days. As a matter of fact, from the 1970s to current, most Native jewelry is hallmarked, but before that, the opposite was true. Collectors still pay good money for the old, unsigned pieces though. The value is just based on the quality of a piece.However, a few people were hallmarking early on. And those pieces nowIt is easy to understand the importance of provenance as to the authenticity bring a premium because there is a form of provenance. For example, youand value of a piece, but there is another question. Is the provenance real? can take two bracelets that look almost identical and both are quality work.Any time money is involved, especially when the amounts can be significant, However, one is signed by the Hopi silversmith Morris Robinson (one ofsome people try to manipulate the system. Fake hallmarks, fake documents, the few guys who signed his work) and the other has no hallmarks. Theconjured up stories, hearsay, and much more are often passed off as potential signed one will bring at least twice as much in todays market. The reason,provenance. So buyers/collectors should beware and do your due diligence. we know who made it. We can tie it to a certain person in history. The otherEducate yourself on the items you intend to collect. When possible, deal with item may be just as good of quality as far as workmanship goes, but it isreputable dealers, auctions and sellers. We always advise buyers/collectors speculatory as to who made it. We can say it was most likely Native-madeto keep as much information with the piece as possible. At the very least, get based on the construction and style, but there is nowhere near the degree ofa written receipt with a basic description and the amount paid. If possible, certainty you get with the hallmarked piece. write down the history that came with it or print out any research you find on the item. It may help tremendously at a later date.Old bits and spurs are other prime examples. There were a lot of old, handmade bits and spurs from the late 1800s and early 1900s that were notRemember, dont just buy the story, buy the item based on its provenance. hallmarked. However, some were. Even though some can identify (with aWith any type of collectible or historical item, the more iron clad the fair amount of accuracy) who a particular spur maker was by the style andprovenance, the more substantial value the marketplace will allow for it. 38 April 2020"