1000 coins is too small of an amount to be useful for mining
What amount would be useful for forging? I used my meager BTC stash to purchase 2200 NXT through DGEX with the hopes it would be enough to generate a return. I've tried to be as useful as a newcomer can to the project with feedback and running a dedicated server. I'm going to keep the server running and up to date, but am I wasting my time?
What return did you expect with 2200 NXT? You get what you put in. If you started CPU mining Bitcoin today you would get Bitcoin. Just not much... If you wanted more, you'd get GPU for a few hundred dollars. That would make more bitcoin. If not enough, you could spend a few thousand for ASIC, and get more.
The same is true here, but instead of hardware you have to get NXT.
As someone who bought GPUs, and ASICs for a lot of money, I find NXT more than fair.