Another troubling example of quick money-making

I had a 50-year-old wooden toy pistol that my son had decided to bring home after a visit to his grandmother's in the UK. While I understand it was originally made to loosely resemble a toy cowboy pistol, it's essentially a rotten piece of wood (that apparently could be used to fire elastic bands). I was dealt with by a manager of security at Heathrow, who explained that it simply couldn't be allowed through. While very pleasant, polite and understanding, and did suggest I returned to check-in to check in the item, he was also quick to recommend the MailandFly option. I took the strip of paper with the code on and several days after arriving home checked to see the cost: £55 to send something on a two-hour flight to the EU that weighs a few grams and has no value other than sentimental. I'm sad to lose something I had as a child, but this is utterly ridiculous. I understand fully that security need to do their job, but I'd rather they were honest and just confiscate the item rather than push what is clearly an outrageous money-making scheme. Again, I can't help fear that this is yet another example of the UK being in thrall to the Arthur Daley-style quick and easy money-making that have no official backing or recommendation (witness the hundreds of Covid-19 "testing" sites that miraculously popped up overnight and are somehow, staggeringly, listed on the government's own web pages). I shan't bother and write it off.