not worth a red cent

not worth a red cent

Worthless. I don't know how I'm going to tell that woman that her prized collectibles are not worth a red cent.
See also: cent, not, red, worth
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

red cent, not worth/don't have a

Worthless; bankrupt or broke. The cent has long been the lowest denomination of American coin, and “red” refers to the fact that it used to be made of copper. The expression dates from the early nineteenth century. J. S. Jones used it in People’s Lawyer (ca. 1839): “It would not have cost you a red cent.”
See also: have, not, red, worth
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • red cent, not worth/don't have a
  • not a red cent
  • not one red cent
  • red cent
  • red ink
  • (as) red as a rose
  • (as) red as blood
  • red as a cherry
  • (as) red as a cherry
  • ruby
References in periodicals archive
Branko Geroski in Sloboden Pecat comments that the story with the "red telephone" is not worth a red cent if Telma TV doesn't publically announce who put pressure on them.