The phrase “to give your two cents” began as a modest way to share an opinion without claiming too much importance. It likely evolved from the older British phrase “put in my tuppence worth,” meaning a small contribution to a discussion.

By the late 1800s in America, “two cents’ worth” appeared in newspapers and letters to the editor, where postage cost exactly two cents. A Washington Times piece from 1911 used it that way: “...when Stone Wall Jack’s son put in his two cents’ worth.”

Early English-usage guides later explained that people literally paid their two cents to mail their opinions, and by the 1920s, “here’s my two cents” had become shorthand for offering an unsolicited remark.