It wasn’t at the time.

Your right! I found this[1] which says it was $10 at launch.

So you paid $10 and helped support indie developers launch what, in time, evolved into an almost universally beloved app.

That should feel pretty good. Your tiny investment helped create something great!

[1] https://mjtsai.com/blog/2010/04/13/netnewswire-for-ipad/