The provenance was lost
On this page10
What gets lost
Where, when, land status and permission. Usually because the find was picked up on a walk and labelled later, which means never.
Why it matters legally
Because the questions in this property are about where something was found and under what permission. A find with no record is a find you cannot answer for.
And scientifically
For archaeological and natural history material the context is most of the information. An arrowhead with no location is an interesting stone.
And commercially
A collection with provenance is saleable and one without is much less so. ARPA's commerce prohibition reaches material obtained in violation of state or local law, and a buyer with sense will ask.
Labels fall off
Especially paper taped to a jar that has been handled for years. A second record in a notebook or a file is what survives.
And inherited collections arrive unlabelled
Which is the common case and the saddest one. The information existed and lived in somebody's head, and the objects outlived it.
Write it at the moment
A phone note with a location and a date, before the find goes in a pocket. Thirty seconds, and it is the difference between a collection and a drawer.
Then transfer it once, properly
To a numbered container and a record, when the find is cleaned and dried and ready to be put away. One transfer, done carefully, rather than a label rewritten four times.
Photographs carry metadata for free
A phone photograph at the moment of finding records a date and usually a location without anybody writing anything. It is the cheapest provenance available and it is already in most people's pockets.