Is my 844 anything special?

I bought this Model 844 new back in 1980. From what I can tell, the cathedral hands are from the more sought after 844 mark-1. However, out of all the mark-1's i've seen, none I could find look like mine as mine has "Made In France" at the bottom. On top of that the "In" is also painted over with lume. The bezel also seems to be off, as the 60 second marker seems to be smaller than others i've seen. I've had the watch from new and the only parts that were ever changed were the stem during an overhaul and the glass mineral crystal. Originally, it had a black vinyl strap with holes that didn't survive.

I bought it from Naum Brothers (Rochester NY), a Heuer distributor at the time, when they were going defunct and closing stores. It didn't come in what I could determine to be the regular Heuer flip-open box; it came in a slim glossy black lacquered pressboard box with gold Heuer logo on the top removable lid, and red velvet lining (if I recall correctly). The serial number is 117XX.

Just recently I noticed the discrepancies and thought i'd put something out there in-case I had something really rare.

I'm in no way an expert, but I've looked into the 844s a bit (I have a /5).

I would guess that you have an early 844/1. IIRC they were made in France initially and it's very possible that the first batch were "knocked up" in a hurry as Jack Heuer was trying to capture a market (and succeeded). There are lots of early 1000 series watches that don't "quite" match the (poorly-) defined specifications so things like the smaller marker at 12 on the bezel, and the painted over text on the dial are likely early examples (not exactly prototypes - but early production maybe).

Regarding the box: If you got the watch as the shop was closing down, then it's highly likely they just threw it into whatever Heuer box they had available. My 844/5, bought in the early '90s (18th birthday gift from my father) was bought in a watch shop in London and came in one of the round plastic cases, (see photo) which I do not "think" was the "correct" box at the time - but was what the shop had available (maybe they were supplied watches and boxes in separate shipments and so didn't match them up?). Back then, getting the whole customer experience "absolutely perfect to a pin" wasn't a priority - certainly not like it is now, so I think most purchasers would have just been happy to "get" a box! 😁

As to value: I couldn't say, not my interest, but it does appear to me to be an early one.