Goodness yes- genuinely wasn't arguing that point at all, better to have it somewhere than falling to bits and finally vanishing. Also did not occur to me that if something did show up on Ebay, be sure the buyer would be someone who cherishes history. I get in trouble for sometimes discounting the value of professionals, really don't mean to. It's just that from what I've seen on CWT since 2012, ' amateurs ' can be indistinguishable from someone with a degree.
Not quite off thread- this relic thing can be puzzling. Once had a guide at Gettysburg ( he was there just to come along, not leading a tour ) be convinced I was relic hunting. Dropped a pen in the grass, looked down, that's it, mostly thinking about leaving bits of plastic on the battlefield, not too worried about losing a pen. He seemed upset, as in really upset, couldn't figure out why until someone said ' No relic hunting '.
Had to abandon pen but thought, gee whiz. If someone found a button or something perishable, wouldn't it be better preserved somewhere, in a collection someone prized as History, than eventually gone? Not me, I don't know enough to ' collect ', but there are people who would ensure it was preserved.