Man Throws Away Hard Drive Containing 7,500 Bitcoins: Welshman James Howells bought 7,500 bitcoins in 2009 for virtually nothing. One day, he spilled coffee on his computer, so he disassembled the parts (including the hard drive), which he placed in a drawer. Fast forward to 2013 when he decided to toss out the parts. Howells realized only a couple months later that his computer contained $7.5 million worth in bitcoin. He rummaged a South Wales landfill for months trying to locate it.