Something seems off about this war nickel, opinions please...

Hello CoinTalkers,

I joined the site a few years ago but have not posted in quite sometime. College and life in general have kept me from being as involved in numismatics as I would like, but I've recently been trying to make a bit more time for "coin related stuff" as I like to call it. :smile CoinTalk's community has taught me a lot over the years, and I appreciate everyone's insight.

The coin in question today is a 1944-P war nickel which I found in rolls from the bank. What makes it unusual is I don't believe it was struck in the same alloy that most war nickels were. As you can see in the photos, the details on the reverse are quite week in some areas, and also the color isn't quite like most other war nickels I have seen in this grade.

Unfortunately the single biggest indicator that something is amiss with this coin, is something that no one here can really test for themselves, and that is the sound. It just doesn't have the silvery "ping" that every war nickel I have ever handled has had. It's not the clunk that a base metal counterfeit might have, but actually sounds closer to a regular non wartime nickel. I've come across a few counterfeit war nickels over the years, most of which are really low quality cast coins like the 1943 I've posted a picture of below.

My thought is if this counterfeit, it's a heck of a lot better than most war nickel counterfeits I have seen. And if it was struck with the wrong alloy, was this pretty common for war nickels? As they were only made for about four years, maybe some variation in the alloy was common. I'm not really asking for value, just wondering if this hypothesis seems reasonable (or is correct).

So with all these things in mind, I'd appreciate anyone's opinion on the coin. To be honest, I'm a little bit frustrated. I've asked many coin dealers about this coin, and most of them just stare at me blankly and say, "it's just a regular war nickel". Regardless of anyone's opinion, I'm probably going to submit this coin to a TPG soon. I don't expect it's really worth anything, it's been bugging me for about 2 years, and I really just want to put the matter to rest.

Thanks in advance for any replies,
Half Dollar*

 

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To me this nickel looks as though it's been in a harsh, and possibly corrosive environment for quite some time before being discovered. The best way to authenticate it would be to weigh it. It may fail a "ring test" just due to the damage it has received in it's rough lifetime.

 

The 44 looks normal. Have you weighed it?
The second just looks like heat damage.

 

I second the heat damage.

 

Your 44 has a lamination, you can see it running from the center to about 4:30 on the obv. A lamination like that can result in a "dumb" planchet that doesn't ring or can have an odd ring.