One would think; I mean Picard loves antiques (save for "Generations" where he casually picks up then throws a still intact one that he'd frothed over regarding its rarity a couple years earlier)... but apart from how Enterprise sensors couldn't see it until it was too late, the Promellian vessel being the lure... or why Picard simply wouldn't call the Federation to have science ships stop on by with what they've learned and to try to collect one or continue learning about it. Plus, if Romulans or other baddies were around, a big beacon blaring "stay away, there's a weapon here that will suck the life out of you faster than a vampire during breakfast", they might be inclined to hang around at the edge and try to figure out anything unusual of any sort and eventually perhaps find a way to bypass it to get to the mines to see what makes them tick before the Federation team does... Also makes you wonder how many more Promellian ships hadn't fallen for the trap if but one was inside, or how many more minefields are in their area of space (if larger than just their solar system, the episode makes a few assumptions but it's otherwise so well-told that these and other nuances are not readily thought into.) In the end, both species wiped each other out and it also makes you wonder how it all began. I bet delegates from both factions were at a rock concert, and somebody sneezed at just the wrong end of the crescendo.
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