Which at the time were worth something on the order of a penny apiece, due to the fact that Bitcoin was an unproven system that very few people were using and were afraid to invest large amounts of real money in. Nobody at the time seriously thought (although they all hoped) that bitcoins would be worth anything near what they are today. The only reason bitcoins are worth what they are today is because these early adopters were prepared to take the risk of expending a large amount of effort into something that may well have turned out to be a complete failure. All investments are like this. Those who take the risks stand to reap the rewards, and they also stand to lose everything if it doesn't work out.