Should auction houses photograph envelopes?

Zoins

I've been getting and enjoying old envelopes with PCGS and ATS encapsulated pieces.

A lot of the time, it has very interesting provenance information on them, sometimes not mentioned in the auction lot description.

This is done on eBay quite often.

Should auction houses post photos of envelopes, front and back?

PerryHall

@Zoins said:
I've been getting and enjoying old envelopes with PCGS and ATS encapsulated pieces.

A lot of the time, it has very interesting provenance information on them, sometimes not mentioned in the auction lot description.

This is done on eBay quite often,.

Should auction houses post photos of envelopes, front and back?

I don't think they will since it's impossible to prove that an envelope went with a specific coin. Do they ever sell a raw coin with a pic of the slab insert that was originally with the coin?

Zoins

@PerryHall said:

@Zoins said:
I've been getting and enjoying old envelopes with PCGS and ATS encapsulated pieces.

A lot of the time, it has very interesting provenance information on them, sometimes not mentioned in the auction lot description.

This is done on eBay quite often,.

Should auction houses post photos of envelopes, front and back?

I don't think they will since it's impossible to prove that an envelope went with a specific coin. Do they ever sell a raw coin with a pic of the slab insert that was originally with the coin?

"went with a specific coin" could just mean it was delivered as part of the lot, which they are today.

ricko

I know that extraneous material or exonumia has a following among collectors. However, not something that interests me. Also, just another uncontrolled area that would be easy to fake.... Cheers, RickO

jmlanzaf

@Zoins said:
I've been getting and enjoying old envelopes with PCGS and ATS encapsulated pieces.

A lot of the time, it has very interesting provenance information on them, sometimes not mentioned in the auction lot description.

This is done on eBay quite often,.

Should auction houses post photos of envelopes, front and back?

Sometimes they do.

Cougar1978

No

BustDMs

Only with famous collections to help document provenance.

DCW

I, for one, am in favor of it. To me, provenance adds so much to the piece and these envelopes often reveal much more than what is described in the auction.
Take the Donald Groves Partrick Collection. Ive purchased a few of his tokens and medals, and the effort he put into adding information to the little envelopes he stored them in blows me away.
I mean, this is a man that owned a Brasher Doubloon! Immense wealth. Yet, he made careful notes and saved the auction tags for EVERYTHING. You can feel the guy's enthusiasm for the hobby, even on low value stuff. My kind of collector. It was all part of history for him

coinsarefun

I think they do it when they have a reasonable certainty that the envelope is accurate. I have been seeing more
come to auction but more so mentioning the original notes and envelope is include.
.
To me this is crucial and I will give an example in a few days why. Not from an auction house, rather Ebay like you said.
Even though I read the envelope that was posted in the Ebay auction I contacted the seller and asked him if the pics and envelope really went together. He verified it for me. .......The rest for another post