The items would have been lost (probably forever) when the LEM was crashed back onto the moon, so where's the harm? Other people did know that Armstrong had the

The items would have been lost (probably forever) when the LEM was crashed back onto the moon, so where's the harm? Other people did know that Armstrong had the items - as the article states, he reported the bag to Collins, who in turn told NASA about it, so he wasn't exactly being sneaky about it. I suppose you could argue that it wasn't really "trash" but NASA obviously considered the articles "disposable" once they'd served their purpose. Armstrong stuck the bag in a closet for 40 years. At least he didn't try to sell them. NASA turned a blind eye to Mercury and Gemini astronauts taking personal items (and things like stamps, paper money and coins) into space, because they gave them to family and friends. Only when these "space flown" items started being sold for considerable sums of money did NASA try to put a halt to the practice. I'm sure Armstrong's "mementos" could have been sold - either above or below board - for large amounts, but I doubt that's something Armstrong would have ever considered.