1944-S Wheat Penny Value

1944-S Lincoln Cent

1944-S Wheat Penny: front (type example, 1909 Philadelphia VDB cent) — Type example: 1909 Philadelphia VDB cent. Your coin's date and mint mark may differ. The V.D.B. initials on this example's back were removed during 1909, so later wheat pennies don't have them.
Photo credits
National Numismatic Collection, National Museum of American History (photo: Jaclyn Nash) (PD; source)

1944-S Wheat Penny: back (type example, 1909 Philadelphia VDB cent) — Type example: 1909 Philadelphia VDB cent. Your coin's date and mint mark may differ. The V.D.B. initials on this example's back were removed during 1909, so later wheat pennies don't have them.
Photo credits
National Numismatic Collection, National Museum of American History (photo: Jaclyn Nash) (PD; source)

Value by condition

Penny Value estimate · values as of Q4 2026

Worn (Good to Very Fine)

4¢ – 11¢

G-4 – VF-20

Uncirculated (MS-60)

$1.50

Brown

By grade

Typical value at each grade and colour. Penny Value estimate.
Grade	Brown	Red-Brown	Red
G-4Good	6¢	—	—
VG-8Very Good	6¢	—	—
F-12Fine	6¢	—	—
VF-20Very Fine	6¢	—	—
XF-40Extremely Fine	31¢	—	—
AU-50About Uncirculated	67¢	—	—
MS-60Mint State (Uncirculated)	$1.50	$2.00	—
MS-63Mint State (Uncirculated)	$2.00	$2.50	$4.00
MS-65Mint State (Uncirculated)	$4.50	$5.50	$9.50

Values as of Q4 2026 · Penny Value estimate · based on 9 recorded sales

Penny Value estimate, 2026-Q4, from public sale records, mintage and survival data. It isn't a price guide or an offer.

How Penny Value estimates values

Check your own penny

Take a photo of each side. Penny Value reads the date and the mint mark, tells you if it could be a 1944-S and what to check.

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How to identify it

Copper-coloured brass made partly from recycled shell cases; about 3.11 g

What to check

What a genuine 1944-S shows:

Steel-grey or copper-coloured: Copper colouredIs the coin's metal silver-grey like steel, or copper/brown?
Magnet test: Does not stick to a magnetUser-only physical test: does a magnet stick to the coin?

Specs

Series: Lincoln Wheat Cent
Year: 1944
Mint: San Francisco
Mint mark: Below the date, on the front
Metal: Brass (95% copper, 5% zinc)
Weight: 3.11 g
Mintage: 282.8 million (282,760,000)
The issue total; the one or two steel errors are not counted separately.
Source: Wikipedia
Designer: Victor David Brenner

Other varieties of this date

1944-S Steel (error)
San Francisco · One or two known.
ErrorTest first
Rarely sold

Other 1944 pennies

1944
Philadelphia · 1.4 billion made
7.5¢worn
79¢MS-60
1944-D
Denver · 430.6 million made
7.5¢worn
$1.50MS-60

1944 penny values · Every Lincoln Wheat Cent · Penny value chart