A rare 1943 penny was accidentally minted on copper, not steel, that year.
A Massachusetts teenager found a rare penny in his lunch change and kept it for more than seven decades until his recent death — without ever knowing it may be one of the most valuable US coins of all time.
The lucky piece could fetch up to $1.7 million when it hits the auction block later this week, according to reports Tuesday.
The 1943 Lincoln penny — one of 20 accidentally pressed in copper that year — was discovered by 16-year-old Don Lutes Jr. in his school cafeteria in March 1947, according to Sarah Miller of Heritage Auctions in Dallas.
“This is the most famous error coin in American numismatics, and that’s what makes this so exciting,” Miller told Fox News.
In the ’40s, copper was a strategically valuable metal needed to make shell casings and other implements for World War II.
To preserve it, pennies in 1943 were made of zinc-coated steel — but a small number of blanks made primarily of copper were caught in mint presses and accidentally circulated.
Word soon spread about the valuable rare coins and fraudsters began selling fakes to collectors, according to Heritage Auctions’ website.
“Stories appeared in newspapers, comic books and magazines, and a number of fake copper-plated steel cents were passed off as fabulous rarities to unsuspecting purchasers,” the site notes.
Rumors also swirled that car mogul Henry Ford would give a new automobile to anyone who could give him one of the elusive coins — although the myth was later proven false.
The US Mint quickly denied that the special pennies were in circulation.
“Despite the mounting number of reported finds, the Mint steadfastly denied any copper specimens had been struck in 1943,” Heritage notes.
Lutes, who heard the rumors about winning a car from Ford, was told the coin he found was worth nothing.
When he asked the Treasury about it, reps told him the coin was fake.
But he nevertheless kept it in his personal collection for more than 70 years, until he died in September.
Heritage Auctions will auction off the penny on Thursday.
A Japanese company will unveil on Tuesday a “smart’’ beer fridge designed to keep track of how many brewskis you drink — and automatically order more when you run low.
The chill contraption, called the DrinkShift, is among thousands of high-tech products set to be displayed at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, which kicks off Tuesday and will run through Friday.
In addition to the brew-buddy fridge by Tokyo-based Shiftall Inc., which holds 13 beers and uses sensors to keep a tally of your bottles, other items set to be showcased at CES include:
An LG “rollaway” TV featuring a flexible, flat 65-inch screen that comes up out of a rectangular enclosure with the push of a button and then curls back up around a spindle inside the contraption. The base doubles as a large speaker system.
A “smart’’ pet feeder called Mookkie with food bowls that open using facial recognition, so Fido can’t get into Mitten’s food and vice versa. The device has a front camera to eye any animal that comes near and scan its face.
A suitcase designed to move alongside you wherever you go. The “smart’’ luggage, called Ovis, comes equipped it with five small cameras that are supposed to use “recognition’’ technology to keep tabs on you even in a crowd. Luggage owners also wear wristbands linked to the technology, and the arm devices will buzz if the bag gets more than a few feet away. The luggage on wheels can travel more than 6 mph. It can be switched to manual mode so the bag can be lugged up stairs or loaded onto an escalator.
An electronic sleep buddy known as the Somnox Sleep Robot, which resembles a large plush peanut and includes technology tucked inside it that is supposed to mirror your breathing as you cuddle with it to improve your snooze time.
An Air 100 selfie drone with an HD aerial camera, all about the size of your hand. Its camera uses facial-recognition technology to lock onto your face as it is hovering, and it can follow you around. You have the option to control it with your phone, like a remote control, if you want to take a bigger group shot, but its default function is to focus on you.
Lots of gentlemen still prefer blondes — and scientists with too much time on their hands have discovered why: they’re in relatively short supply.
Natural blondes, as opposed to the legions of “bottle blondes’’ who use dye, need 200 genes to create the color, the Sunday Times of London reports. That compares to 60 genes for brown tresses and only a handful for most redheads.
Naturally blonde hair is rare. Only 12.7 percent of women are born with it. For men, the figure is 9.9 percent.
Britain’s Medical Research Council conducted the study, looking only at white people of European descent.
My daughter is bright and animated but has been unsuccessful in finding employment. She had a good job for 10 years and is now working as a community activist with no pay. She has letters of recommendations from two members of Congress. Can you help?
Oh Mom, I know how hard it is to see your little girl (and no matter how old, she’ll always be your little girl) struggling. And of course you want to do everything you can to help. But there’s a right way and a wrong way, despite our best intentions. Parents reaching out to their own network of contacts on behalf of their adult children is common and appropriate, but outreach beyond that should be left to the young ’uns. From now on, your daughter must be the one applying for jobs and making the pitch herself to anyone outside of your network. I know it’s hard — I still cut the edges off my teenage daughter’s toast. What you can also do is help guide her to career resources that help her evaluate her approach to finding a job, her skills, interviewing preparedness, etc. Former schools and organizations where she has some contacts can certainly help.
I’m in a career rut and feel that the New Year is a perfect time to do something completely different, but I don’t know where or how to begin. Any tips?
Helping you change your life requires just a little bit more info, because I’m not a magician. (Actually, I contemplated pursuing magic as a career when I was in middle school until an unfortunate mishap with a hat and a bunny. Just kidding… not about the magician part, but about the bunny.) Making a change may seem so daunting that many people never try. Instead of getting overwhelmed, break it down into small steps. Do you need to go back to school, make a lateral move or even a step back to get on a new track? What are the monetary considerations? Can you pursue your new career while employed in your current one? Which skills and experiences are transferable, and who in your network can help? Make a list and resolve to do one thing in pursuit of your new path each day. Before long, as if by magic, you’ll find yourself in a new place.
Gregory Giangrande is a chief human resources and communications officer in the media industry. E-mail your career questions to gotogreg@nypost.com. Follow Greg on Twitter: @greggiangrande. His Go to Greg podcast series is available on iTunes.
As the New Year beckons so do the resolutions for the coming year. Like most people, losing those holiday pounds is a priority. This poses a challenge for many, unless, of course, you employ technology to aid you in your weight loss goals. Here are some technologies that you can use to help you shed the pounds in 2019.
Apple Watch
The Apple Watch is the ideal technology tool to help you stay motivated as you look to lose weight in 2019. The watch incorporates activity rings that show when you Move, Exercise, and Stand. The Move feature is based on the number of calories you burn in relation to your heart rate while the Exercise feature measures the number of minutes that your heart rate is elevated. The Stand option indicates the number of times you have stood up and moved around within an hour.
The three Apple Watch features use ringtones to let you know when you have completed your goal for the day. You can make your Move goal customized while the Exercise option is a fixed 30-minutes over the course of a day. The Stand goal takes approximately 12 hours to accomplish.
The Apple Watch can help you stay on track and give you the extra motivation you need to move around and hit your goals during your weight loss journey.
Fitbit Alta HR
Another motivational tech tool that can get you moving in the New Year is the Fitbit Alta HR. This handy device features an altimeter that tracks your steps and stair climbs. It will let you know how many floors you have descended and keeps you accountable for getting in your steps each day.
There is also a sleep tracker feature which can be an important component to weight loss too. The sleep tracker provides data on the number of hours you sleep as well as how restful your sleep was. You can upload your sleep data as well as all your movement activity on the Fitbit.com site and see graphs and charts of your daily exercise.
The device also lets you compare data with others, making it possible to lose weight with a friend at the same time. This is a great option for people looking to use the buddy system to keep themselves accountable.
Nike Training Club
By downloading the Nike Training Club app, you can track your activity and use one of its 185 plus workouts to keep you moving. The app comes fully loaded with all the workouts you need to stay interested in losing weight and even includes visual guidance to help you perform exercises properly.
The app allows you to receive credit for any type of activity you do, including shooting hoops or walking, so you know when you are burning calories and getting fitter.
To reach your weight loss goal, the Nike Training Club app provides recommended workouts and gives expert tips to help keep you on track. This is almost like having a coach by your side as you work your way to a fitter you.
My Fitness Pal
If you want to reduce and monitor your calorie intake, you will do well with the My Fitness Pal app. This app can be downloaded to your phone and will help you track the number of calories you eat each day.
With thousands of foods to select from, you can get an accurate and detailed account of what you are putting in your mouth. This can help you identify healthy food options and keep you determined to lose those extra pounds.
Plus, the My Fitness Pal app has the ability to track your activity, so you can monitor all the contributing factors to your weight loss strategy. This is a well-rounded tech tool that you can use to manage your calories as well as your fitness goals.
Lost It! Health-O-Meter
The Lose It! Health-O-Meter is a Bluetooth scale that can wirelessly measure body fat. It is designed to be used with the Lose It! app so you can track your body measurements, daily calories intake, food values, and exercise.
Using the Lose It! app, you can set your weight loss goals and send weigh-in information directly from your scale to the app. The scale measures weight, body fat, hydration, and BMI. Plus, there are thousands of foods to choose and track in the app, including popular restaurant menu items that you might come across.
The scale is only compatible with Apple products, but the company promises an Android version is coming soon. It can track up to four user profiles, measuring up to 400 pounds as well.
DietBet
If losing weight feels like an uphill battle, you may need a little more encouragement and the DietBet website can help. This site lets you enter into competitions with others to lose weight and win money at the same time.
By betting how much weight you will lose by a specific timeframe, you can be eligible to win the jackpot of that betting group. If you fail to lose the weight, you lose your money which will go to the winning member that reaches the group goal first.
The DietBet site can certainly motivate you to keep focused on your weight loss, especially if you are a competitive person as no one likes to lose money.
These six tech tools can keep you on track as you look to lose weight and get healthy in 2019. Fitbit unveils Alta HR, the world's slimmest fitness wristband with continuous heart rate, as well as two new sleep tracking features 'Sleep Stages and Sleep Insights ' at an event hosted by actress and dancer Julianne Hough on March 1, 2017 at SWERVE Fitness in New York. Photo: Getty Images/Dave Kotinsky
Heritage Auctions
