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I saw this in an informal email but I don't understand it.

Can you help me with the meaning and the context in which it is used (if used at all or if it simply a mistake from the sender)

Thank you!

John
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    It sounds like a variant of my two cents, which would have been much easier to find in a search. It's hard to tell if the writer was trying to be amusing by changing two to five, or if the idiom was simply mistyped. – J.R. Apr 22 '13 at 03:15
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    If you want an expert to explain the meaning in the context, you might start by showing the phrase in context. – MetaEd Apr 22 '13 at 03:58
  • J.R. I have also seen 'my five cents'. It is just a variant. Perhaps this form is more common in non-english speaking countries? – JHubbard80 Oct 28 '14 at 16:40

1 Answers1

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The more famous expression is my two cents. But I guess with the decreasing value of money through inflation, time has had its say for the added 3 cents. ;) Another reason for this relatively new variant might be the fact that in earlier times the next larger denomination coin after 1 cent was a 2 cent coin, but these days, the next larger coin after a penny is 5 cents (the word nickel came into common use more recently). Just a thought, though!enter image description here

Have a look at this wiki entry, which tells us that the expression primarily means throwing in our own advice, valued at 2 or 5 cents. The UK version has pence or penn'orth instead of cents (for obvious reasons). Here is an entry at the EnglishEnhancer with some good examples.

And there is another question right here at English.StackExchange which talks about the etymology of this phrase.

And a little Google is always a good learning habit.

camelbrush
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