But I think this news is important for another reason, too. It’s strong evidence that cash prizes — even relatively modest ones like $10,000 — are effective in producing new historical knowledge.
$10k modest? I think that is more than most bug bounties, even quite serious ones. Part of the reason the payouts are low or why this is not done more often, is because there is too much work involved relative to to the opportunity cost. It's basic econ. The $40k prize for deciphering a word was an especially 'good deal' but most prizes are worse. It's also cheaper to have an expert on payroll doing work everyday than one-time payouts.