Pedigree

[WoodenJefferson]

Misuse of the term ~provenance~ to describe previous ownership of a rare or significant coin. Horses and bloodhounds have pedigrees; coins have provenance. In days gone by, a pedigree carried some weight; coins bearing them possessed manna. However, beginning in the 1980s, everyone and his uncle--large cent collectors leading the parade--began appending lengthy so-called pedigrees to otherwise meaningless coins. Examples like the following entitled "Double Struck Sheldon-120B Tied for Fourth Finest Known" only to find out it was tied for fourth finest known with two or three others. The cataloger's definitive statement is followed by the usual endless string of past owners.