Next time I'm browsing on LBRY I'll give Eric Dubay a look, and maybe engage with him in the comments there.
Where I live, actual bones are very rare. I have personally uncovered bones that caused us to have to stop the dig and call someone, but that was because they appeared to be human remains. I was on a project (but did not personally do the excavation) that was shut down for a short while so paleontologists could come and remove some bones. If I remember right, they were identified as mastodon bones, which are tens (maybe hundreds?) of millions of years more recent than dinosaur fossils. My father did excavation work in Arizona for years, and he said that some dinosaur fossils were so common out there that they ignored them.
As a guy who has always enjoyed science, and participated in many experiments, as a volunteer, as a researcher, and as a subject, I want to address something you bring up in this comment.
The phrase 'Trust The Science' is propaganda, and it IS NOT pushed by scientists. Scientists DO NOT just trust science, they prove it. Any scientist will think you're joking if they hear someone say 'Trust the science'. The phrase that is used (and has been for centuries) in the scientific community is 'PROVE the science'.
Of course, there are people within the scientific community who take a more 'faith based' approach to science, or simply use it to further their own goals, just as there are people of ill will in every community. These people aren't scientists, any more than pedosadist priests are men of God.
A better way to put it would be 'trust the people who prove the science'. Which I don't. There is too much to gain from lying and no independent bodies to verify evidence. The centralisation of information in a capitalist world has but one effect in the long run, poetically demonstrated by the likes of Orwell & Huxley.
I like your dad's story, but I don't get it. Why if dino bones sell for so much money would anyone just ignore them?
Just to clarify your own personal experience, you were on a dig when unidentified bones were discovered. The experts arrived, confirmed they were dino bones, shut down the dig, excavated, published the find as mastodon bones & sold to a museum making a ton of money. Can you see how easy it would be to manipulate the truth in this situation? If I as an independent researcher wanted to verify this find by examining those same bones I would not be able to. Unless I am not understanding this situation clearly?
Even if I am working excitedly as a volunteer on this same excavation, seeing giant bones being unearthed, will I personally ever get the chance to examine these bones and verify they are what the experts claim them to be? Don't think so.
So it seems to me that if any system or institution is able to deny external scrutiny, it is highly susceptible to foul play. And usually the simplest answer is the right one.
Dinosaur fossils aren't usually worth much money, and paleontology is not a secretive science. Wherever you're getting this information from, it's just false. The mastodon bones weren't sold to anybody, they were taken to Cornell for study. Cornell usually either keeps their bones, or donates them to a museum.
A lot of paleontological research of available for free download from universities. All you need, to get permission to look at most college's collections, is a stated research purpose. You do not need credentials, or money, just a 'permission slip'. They will either just give you what you ask for (if it isn't rare) or loan it to you, if they're confident you'll return it.
Errr... this one sold for $31M https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/06/arts/design/t-rex-skeleton-brings-31-8-million-at-christies-auction.html
Is this therefore false information?
Just to clarify, what you're saying is that in fact anyone can get their hands on dino bones to examine them?
There are some rare finds that are worth big money, just like some coins are considered rare and valuable. These may be hard to acquire.
For the most part, yes, the idea that they're all insanely valuable is false information, and yes, anybody can study most of the fossils that have been found.
Thank you for clearing that up.