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Whole, it could serve as a display piece in a tube collectors eye tube gallery....If you only collect tubes, then what difference should it make if they work (other than value)? Another use is if you have a set or chassis that uses it but is missing that tube...If the set is a display piece, going to sit unrestored for years (we all develop backlogs of resto work), or is going to be sold, having a tube there even if it is a dud looks better.
I tend to save the bakelite bases on dud tubes especially fat-pin types. You never know when you will need one. The base of a 6U5 (or other 6 pin tube), an octal socket, 2 diodes, 2 lytics, some wire and toilet paper roll are all you need to make a plugin adapter to use a type 1629 in place of a 6U5. Also, a surprising number of radios and TVs used tube sockets/bases as multi-pin wiring connectors for speakers, batteries, second chassis etc...If you need the base half for some project then having one on hand from a dud tube can be a godsend. I've been known to take a dud tube apart in front of the curious to use as a visual aid in answering the question "how does a tube work?".
One can get a lot out of their own trash if they stop to think what/how it can be useful.
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