1944 Lincoln Wheat Cent

About This Coin

The 1944 Lincoln Wheat Cent is a United States cent from the Lincoln Wheat Cents 1909-1958 series — 36th of 50 years in the series. In 1944, coins were struck at the Denver, San Francisco, and Philadelphia Mints with a combined mintage of 2.1 billion. This represents the highest annual mintage in the entire series, above the series median of 350.9 million. The obverse features Abraham Lincoln facing right, the first real person depicted on a U.S. circulating coin and the reverse displays two wheat stalks framing ONE CENT, symbolizing American agriculture. Struck on recycled brass shell casings from the war effort, returning to a copper-based alloy. A few 1944 steel cents exist as transitional errors. Struck in 95% copper, 5% zinc, 19 mm in diameter, with a plain edge. Collectors have cataloged 359 known die varieties for this date across 11 categories, including atypical die clash, bie die break cent, cud and 8 other types. Across its variants, estimated values range from $0 to $1218K depending on mint mark, grade, and strike type. A notable auction result reached $408K in MS66 grade at Heritage Auctions. Designed by Victor David Brenner.