The Greek words assarion, kodrantēs and lepton (Kodrantes and Lepton) refer to small coins. Each of these words may be rendered “very small coin,” “coin with very little value,” or “money that was not worth very much.” Generally the same word or phrase may be used for all three, except in MRK 12:42, where two lepta equal a kodrantēs.
For the assarion, translations generally choose a very low denomination coin in MAT 10:29; LUK 12:6, for example, “a penny” (so RSVGNT). The meaning of Jesus’ saying is well conveyed also by PV, which says “for almost nothing.”