1944 Penny Value: Shell Case Brass, Steel Error and 1944-D/S

A circulated 1944, 1944-D or 1944-S penny is worth about 5 to 20 cents as of October 2026, and a typical uncirculated red one $2-15. The year is famous for two reasons that have nothing to do with ordinary coins: the 1944 steel cent, a wrong-metal error with 25 to 30 known that has sold for $30,550 to $180,000, and the 1944-D/S overmintmark, which brings about $500-700 in low mint state and $23,400-30,950 in MS67 red.

The 1944 is also the first US coin struck in the hundreds of millions from a brass alloy, popularly said to come from spent cartridge cases. The checks below cover the metal, the mint mark, the overmintmark and the one test that settles a steel cent in seconds.

Quick answer

• A worn 1944 penny of any mint is worth about 5-20 cents; CoinWeek notes singles list on eBay for 50 cents to $1.
• Uncirculated red: about $12.50 in MS65RD and $150 in MS67RD for the 1944 and 1944-D, according to CoinWeek; PCGS MS68RD coins have sold for $7,031-12,948.
• The 1944 steel cent weighs 2.70 g and sticks to a magnet. Sales: $30,550 (MS61, 2016) to $180,000 (MS64, Heritage, June 2021). One of the two known 1944-S steel cents sold for $408,000 (Heritage, 2021) and $490,500 (GreatCollections, January 2025).
• The 1944-D/S FS-511 shows an S peeking above the D. MS66RD sold for $1,560 (2021); MS67RD for $23,400-30,950 (2021-2023).
• Composition: 95 percent copper, 5 percent zinc, 3.11 g, the shell case brass used 1944-1946.

How do you value a 1944 penny, step by step?

Weigh it, test it with a magnet, read the mint mark, then look under the D for a hidden S.

1. Confirm the wheat reverse and the weight. A normal 1944 cent is 19 mm and 3.11 grams. If your scale reads about 2.70 grams, go straight to step 2.
2. Touch it with a magnet. A brass cent does nothing. A 1944 struck on a leftover 1943 steel blank jumps to the magnet. A coin that is silver colored but does not stick, or weighs 3.11 g, is a plated normal cent, which is worthless as an error.
3. Read the mint mark under the date. No letter is Philadelphia: 1,435,400,000 struck, the first US coin to pass a billion in a year. D is Denver, 430,578,000. S is San Francisco, 282,760,000.
4. On a D, look for the S underneath. With a 10x loupe, FS-511 shows the top of an S clearly above the D, and part of it to the left. FS-512 is fainter: a trace of S protruding slightly left of the D. CoinWeek says a glass is needed for FS-512.
5. Judge wear. Flat cheekbone and jaw and smooth wheat stalks mean circulated, and circulated 1944 cents of any mint are worth cents, not dollars.
6. Judge color. Shell case brass often has a slightly yellower tone than prewar bronze. Uncirculated coins grade brown, red-brown or red; red carries the price.
7. Price from sold results for the same mint, grade and color. A raw coin is not an MS67+RD.

What is a 1944 penny worth?

Prices as of October 2026, from PCGS CoinFacts auction records and CoinWeek's collector guides. Circulated coins of all three mints are worth about 5 to 20 cents.

The story of ordinary 1944 cents in the last decade is a falling top end. CoinWeek tracked the PCGS MS67+RD population of the 1944 from five coins in 2014 to 109 in October 2024, and prices for the grade fell from $2,232 to about $300 over the same period. The 1944-D did the same, from $1,200-1,500 to $300-400. Only MS68RD, with fewer than ten graded for either mint, still brings five figures.

Why is the 1944 penny called a shell case penny?

Because the Mint said it was. After the unpopular zinc-coated steel cents of 1943, the Mint returned to a copper alloy in 1944, and its official account was that the metal came from spent brass cartridge cases collected from military training ranges. The alloy was 95 percent copper and 5 percent zinc with no tin, a brass rather than the prewar bronze, and it was used through 1946.

Numismatic author David W. Lange, quoted by CoinWeek, doubted that cartridge cases could supply the metal for 1.4 billion coins in one year, but accepted that shell casing material went into some of them. So "shell case penny" is a fair name for the type, not a claim about your individual coin, and it adds nothing to the value. The brass often shows as a slightly yellow or straw tone next to a 1942 or a 1947. Our 1943 steel penny value guide covers the year before, and 1945 penny value the next shell case year.

What is the 1944 steel penny and how do you spot one?

It is a 1944 cent struck on a zinc-coated steel blank left over from 1943 or, in PCGS's alternative account, on a blank intended for the Belgian 2 francs the Philadelphia Mint was striking under contract that year. PCGS puts the surviving population at 25 to 30 for Philadelphia, can account for seven distinct 1944-D steel cents, and lists two 1944-S.

Two tests settle a candidate at home. A genuine steel cent weighs about 2.70 grams, not 3.11, and it is strongly magnetic. Anything that weighs 3.11 g or ignores a magnet is a brass cent that has been plated to look like steel, a common novelty, and worth face value. If a 1944 passes both tests, do not clean it, do not sell it locally, and send it to PCGS or NGC; the wrong-metal cents of 1943 and 1944 are the most faked coins in the series, and the opposite error is covered in our 1943 copper penny value guide.

What is the 1944-D/S penny worth?

It depends on which of two overmintmarks you have and how red it is. In 1944 the mint marks were punched by hand into each working die at Philadelphia, and at least two Denver dies were first punched with an S and then corrected with a D. Delma K. Romines discovered the variety in 1962, according to CoinWeek.

FS-511 (CONECA OMM-001) is the strong one: the top of the S stands clearly above the D and a curve shows to the left. PCGS calls it fairly common and had graded more than 120 in mint state by 2011, but red gems are scarce. Recent results run from $475 for a PCGS MS62BN (2019) and $1,560 for MS66RD (January 2021) to $23,400 for PCGS MS67RD at Heritage in November 2023 and $30,949.88 for an MS67RD CAC coin at GreatCollections in 2021. FS-512 (OMM-002) is weaker and cheaper: MS66RD coins brought $940-2,115 and an MS67+RD $8,400 in 2019. Worn examples of either are worth tens of dollars to perhaps a couple of hundred for a clear FS-511, and sales at those grades are thin.

A worked example

Say you find a 1944 penny with a D under the date in a jar. Under a loupe there is a small bump on the upper right of the D and the coin is a warm brown with flat cheekbone. The bump is not an S; the underlying S on FS-511 shows its full upper curve above the D, not a dot. This is an ordinary circulated 1944-D worth about 10 cents. Now suppose the same jar holds a grey 1944 with no mint mark. You weigh it: 3.10 g. It does not move toward a magnet. That is a brass cent someone plated, a novelty worth a cent. If it had read 2.70 g and snapped to the magnet, it would belong in a sealed bag on its way to PCGS or NGC, because the last MS64 sold for $168,000 in January 2025.

Common mistakes

• Expecting a premium for "shell case" metal. Every 1944 cent is the same brass alloy; the name adds nothing.
• Trusting color over weight and a magnet. Plated 1944 cents look like steel and are worthless; the real error weighs 2.70 g and is magnetic.
• Reading any mark near the D as an S. Die chips and damage are common. FS-511 shows the S curve above the D on every coin from that die.
• Pricing from the MS68RD column. Fewer than ten exist for each mint; a typical uncirculated 1944 is worth $2-15.
• Cleaning the coin. It strips the red color that carries every mint state premium; see should you clean old coins.
• Paying a grading fee for a worn coin. Nothing below MS67 is worth the cost for a normal 1944.

How WorthPic reads 1944 penny photos

WorthPic runs on the newest and most capable AI model available, tuned for exactly this kind of identification. From photos of both sides it reads the date and mint mark, confirms the wheat reverse, judges wear on the cheek and the wheat lines, and estimates color. On a D it looks for the curves of an underlying S where the photo is sharp enough, and on a grey coin it says plainly that a photo cannot prove steel: only a scale and a magnet can. It then gives an honest value range in US dollars with a most likely figure, explains what drives it, and says which close-up or test would settle any doubt. It identifies and estimates. It does not authenticate, grade or appraise.

What to photograph

• The front and back straight on, in even daylight.
• The date and mint mark filling the frame, sharp enough to see the edges of the letter.
• Lincoln's cheek and jaw at an angle, to show wear and luster.
• For a grey coin, the coin on a scale showing the reading, and next to a magnet.
• For a bright coin, one photo that shows true color without glare.

When to get it looked at in person

An ordinary 1944 needs no expert; dealers buy wheat cents by the roll. A clear 1944-D/S is worth showing to a dealer and, if it is red and uncirculated, sending to PCGS or NGC with a request for the FS-511 or FS-512 attribution. A coin that weighs 2.70 g and sticks to a magnet should go to PCGS or NGC without delay and without cleaning; the major auction houses, Heritage, Stack's Bowers and GreatCollections, have sold every recent example. For the rest of the jar, start with what pennies are worth money, and for the whole series see wheat penny value.

Sources

• CoinWeek: 1944 Lincoln Cent, a collector's guide: mintage, brass composition and the shell case account, circulated and red values, MS67+ and MS68 results, 1944 steel cent population and prices.
• CoinWeek: 1944-D Lincoln Cent, a collector's guide: Denver mintage, roll and gem values, FS-511 and FS-512 diagnostics and auction results.
• PCGS CoinFacts: 1944 1C Steel: 25-30 survivors, 2.70 g weight, guide values and auction records.
• PCGS CoinFacts: 1944-D 1C Steel: seven known, January 2026 sale.
• PCGS CoinFacts: 1944-S 1C Steel: two known, the 2008 and 2021 Heritage sales and the $490,500 GreatCollections sale in January 2025.
• PCGS CoinFacts: 1944-S 1C, RD: San Francisco mintage and 2016 MS67+RD result.