In legal parlance, a peppercorn is a metaphor for a very small cash payment or other nominal consideration, used to satisfy the requirements for the creation of a legal contract.
Furthermore, a peppercorn rent is often used as a form of nominal ground rent where a (potentially substantial) premium has also been paid on commencement of a long lease of, say, 99 or 125 years (a "virtual freehold"). [9]
Contracts covered by Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code involving the sale of goods between merchants where title passes from seller to buyer for a price. A uniform act relating to commercial law that has, over time, been adopted in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories.