1944 cents are minted on spent shellcase copper. That might be the reason they have a different hue to them.
It looks like different metal like brass. it does not look like the same color as a regular wheat penny.
But it seems my statement might be incorrect. Here is an old post from one of our moderators from an older thread regarding the subject
There's no proof that the shell case cents were ever produced. They made billions of coins in 44,45,46. There wasn't that much tonnage from domestic gun ranges to make that many cents. Never mind all the time and money spent collecting, shipping, melting etc. There are several other posts/ threads that explain this better. But those shell case cents are an urban myth. The 44-46 cents have the same composition as the regular copper cents.
I seem to remember the Red Book also says they're from spent shell casings. So I googled the question " What are Lincoln cents from 1944, 1945, and 1946 made from? ". Here are some of the returns. None of the returns, except 1, say they weren't made from shell casings 1944 1944-1946-lincoln-shell-case-alloy-coin 1944-penny-value Here is the one that mentions the NON-USE of shell casings. Scroll down, watching for it as you go. It's a very small mention. Lincoln_cent Several of the links have mentions of write-ups by Numismatists discussing the "shell casing" cent. Seems like many of the writers at some of the links have simply repeated what they've heard, rather than doing any of their own research.
As I remember, there was some stories that some casings were retrieved from rifle practice sites and added because of PR. No actual military would mess around retrieving shells at that point in the war, nor retrieve the small AA shell casings during battle on a ship. The big guns didn't have such a casing. It was to help reduce the complaints from citizens that the scripts and coupons that limited all resources for the war as somehow certain "favored" people got much more some how. I still have the ones my mother got for me as a child. Jim
Personally, I don't know whether they did or did not. However, it does make sense that it would be an awful lot of trouble for a very limited benefit. I don't remember ever reading about shells being saved on a battlefield or shells being collected on a ship. It seems the shells would have been left where they lie on the battlefield and kicked over or swept over, the side of any ship in a firefight. As you, and one of the links I mentioned, stated, it was probably no more than a PR move.
During WWII there were shortages and shortcuts. Not impossible some alloys were slightly different. Example: steel 1943 cents, silver nickels. Still, I’m not sure shell casing were mixed. PR was important in those dark times.
Super amazing what one learns in these forums.. one thing never mentioned was you hv a good eye 2 notice when somthing just seems different and its always great to ask...cause i always say " You never know "
I would agree with Claw that someone cleaned that coin as some point (not necessarily recently) with a mild acid.
