Provenance is a fancy word that refers to an object's history, or who owned the object, when and where.
Provenance separates the special, almost sacred objects of the past from the ordinary ones.
In many fields of collecting, provenance is the name of the game. For example, provenance makes all the difference in military antiques and collectibles, Michael explains. A gun used by the French in the 19th century may have value, but one used to defeat Napoleon at Waterloo would be worth considerably more. If you can trace that gun into Napoleon's pocket, you have a treasure in hand. Provenance connected to the infamous a revolver traced back to Billy the Kid, for example can also boost an object's value exponentially.