Theymos posted this request in August of 2011 when the price was still well above $1. In fact, even in November 2011, at it's lowest point, the price did not fall under $2 per coin.

Most people here made their donations in 2011 and 2012 when the price was around $2-$10 per coin and most likely averaged around $5/coin. That would have been about $50 for Donator tag and $250 for VIP tag. Remember that over time, a number of the VIPs and some Donators have become scammers or were rated as otherwise untrustworthy by other members. You should not see the Donator tag as anything other than what it is, an indication that the person helped the forum out financially. It doesn't make someone more trustworthy at all. In fact, there's evidence some people used the tag in their confidence games.