Have you heard of the Cosquer Cave, near Marseilles in France? It is a cave full of prehistoric paintings and engravings dating back to 27 to 19 000 years. It could be accessed at that time because sea-level was much lower, now the entrance is 37 m below the sea surface, the long access corridor and part of the cave are submerged, only divers can get in. This cave was discovered by a professional diver named Henri Cosquer in 1985. He did not report this major discovery and kept it secret for years. Sometimes, he explored it with privileged friends of his. I wonder what he could feel, being the only person with his friends to know about this monument. He became a specialist in palaeolithical art and realized that some of the paintings and engravings were unique : together with the usual fauna, there are depictions of seals, jellyfish (or signs looking like jellyfish), auks, a feline's head seen from front, a man with a seal's head, whales of fish... Such images exist in no other cave. The scientific interest was enormous, but he kept it secret for years. One day, in 1991, during an exploration, an accident happened and three divers died in the access corridor. Impossible to dissimulate any more : police would easily discover the real circumstances of this diving accident and Cosquer declared the cave to the authorities. He was not prosecuted because he had made no profit of his secret and his explorations with his friends had only a scientific purpose. The cave is now officially named after him, a museum with a full replica has been opened and he will get royalties from the ticket sales and all the books about the cave.
You don't seem to be aware of the major difference between the UK and certain other countries where these issues are concerned.
I do realize there are differences and the UK generally gives the value to the finder. My point is, why does the country or the museum need 6000 copies of the same thing? The culture seems to be that things were hoarded in the past and we will maintain the culture by continuing to hoard. Or, is it really to keep the population of antiquities down so the value in current collections are not diluted in value or rarity?
Wouldn't hurt my feelings a bit if they released a dozen or so of each of the dated pieces if there were any in the hoard. Price reductions don't usually last for more than a few years. Not like I've never over paid for more than a few pieces in my collection.