Have a 1944 Wheat penny and want to know its value?
Maybe you have a 1944 penny silver in color and wonder if it’s that rare penny you’ve heard about.
Perhaps you have a bunch of 1944 pennies and want to know if it’s worth taking them to a coin dealer to sell them.
If you’ve got questions about 1944 Wheat pennies, you’ve come to the right place — because I’ve got the answers you’re looking for!
It’s time to find out if you own a rare 1944 penny worth thousands or a valuable 1944 penny that’s worth a little more than face value.
Here’s how to tell…
1944 Wheat Penny Facts
The 1944 Lincoln cent is one of the most common Wheat pennies — which were made from 1909 through 1958.
More than 2.1 billion 1944 pennies were struck at the Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco Mints combined — and virtually all of these one-cent coins were made from copper (95% copper, 5% tin, and a very small amount of zinc).
However, Wheat pennies from the mid-1940s differ from most other Wheat cents. Lincoln Wheat cents made from 1944 through 1946 were struck on planchets consisting of 95% copper and 5% zinc (no tin).
Why does this matter?
Because the copper that was used in the 1944 through 1946 pennies was made from recovered ammunition shells used in World War II.
In 1943, the Lincoln penny was made from a zinc-coated steel composition to help save copper for World War II ammunition. However, many people mistook the 1943 steel penny for a dime. And others complained about the steel becoming rusty.
Responding to the public outcry during a time of rations, officials in the U.S. government decided to return to using copper in the penny beginning in 1944 — choosing to derive the copper from spent shell casings.
Thus, Lincoln pennies made from 1944 through 1946 are often called shell case cents or shell case pennies.
What About That Rare 1944 Steel Penny?
Even though the United States Mint switched pennies from a steel composition to copper in 1944, some steel planchets were left behind in the presses (presumably, by accident).
This resulted in the creation of fewer than 2 dozen 1944 steel pennies. (This is even fewer than the similar, yet converse error that resulted in the minting of about 25 copper 1943 pennies — which are also considered extremely rare.)
Many folks call them 1944 silver pennies, but there is no silver in the 1944 cent. They’re zinc-plated steel pennies — just the same as the 1943 cent.
A lot of collectors get excited when they find a silver-colored 1944 cent — thinking they found the rare 1944 steel penny. But in virtually every case, what they have are silver-colored 1944 copper cents.
How to tell if you have a 1944 steel penny vs. a copper penny:
- If your 1944 penny sticks to a magnet, it’s a steel cent and it’s rare.
- If your 1944 penny does NOT stick to a magnet, it’s made from copper and it’s common.
Another test you can conduct on your 1944 pennies is to weigh them:
- If they measure in at 3.11 grams each (more or less), they’re of the ordinary copper variety. All 1944 steel pennies weigh around 2.7 grams.
If you have a 1944 penny that’s silver colored, looks like it’s made from steel, is magnetic, and weighs about 2.7 grams… Then it’s worth having your coin certified by a 3rd-party coin authentication service to determine if you have a real 1944 penny!
Besides the metallic composition of the coin, the biggest difference between a 1944 steel penny and a 1944 copper penny is the value.
Read on to see the huge spread in price between a common, circulated 1944 Wheat penny and any 1944 steel penny…
How Much Is A 1944 Penny Worth?
So, what’s the difference in value between a regular 1944 copper penny and a 1944 steel penny?
More than $85,000!
Here are the details:
| Year / Denomination | Mintmark | Metal | Mintage | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1944 penny | (none) | Copper | 1,435,400,000 | 3 to 5+ cents |
| 1944 penny | D | Copper | 430,578,000 | 3 to 5+ cents |
| 1944 penny | S | Copper | 282,760,000 | 3 to 5+ cents |
| 1944 penny | D over S | Copper | Unknown | $100+ |
| 1944 penny | Any | Steel | 15 to 20 | $85,000+ |
Do you have a 1944 Wheat cent that passes the weight test? Drop a comment below and let me know about the 1944 pennies you have!
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