What is the reason for the strange color of 1944 pennies , I have 12 here that have a goldish tinge

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All look like normal Wheaties to me.

 

They are brass, rather than bronze, which has a slightly different color, but is normal.

 

Environmental damage, toning.
That's what the issue is.

 

Environmental Toning as stated I have seen alot of them. JMO
Dave

 

The shell case war cents are listed as the exact same composition as all the other
bronze cents.

 

The problem is how the law covering the composition was written. It required the cent to be 95% copper and 5% tin and zinc, but it makes no mention of wha tthe proportions of tin and zinc relative to each other are to be. So a 1941 cent that is 95 % copper 2.5 % tin and 2.5% zinc satisfies the requirements of the law. A 1944 cent that is 95% copper, 4.999% zinc and .001% tin satisfies it as well. Throw a pre 1942 cent into the melt and you have satisfied the 5% tin and zinc spec by providing a trace of tin, But the composition of the 1944 is not really the same as the 1941 even though both meet the legal requirements.

For example the 85,590,000 1942 S cents weighing 583,782 pounds were produced using just 50 pounds of tin or .008% tin. The shell case cents used less.