One might argue the copyist is doing archaeology a favour, might help to prevent looting of ancient graves and sites. Such an argumentation would not be valid, since it collides with reality. Collecting (beads) is an addiction. Collectors will always hunt the "real thing", not the copy - no matter the price!

The question to ask is why we (collectors) prefer the original, if copies are so good - leave alone so much cheaper (usually) - that even the expert has (often) a hard time to make a difference.

I think we prefer the ancient and the authentic over the modern copy, because we want to be in close touch with our past, our culture and heritage!