Argentina's copper centavo issues of this period fall within the early Perón years, though the 1 centavo denomination had been effectively worthless in purchasing terms long before Perón took office in 1946. Wartime copper shortages had already forced composition changes across South American mints in the early 1940s, and Argentina was no exception — KM#37a reflects the shift away from earlier bronze alloys toward simpler copper as strategic metal supplies tightened.
By the late 1940s, inflation was eroding low denominations so rapidly that the centavo had largely vanished from everyday transactions.
Argentina's copper centavo issues of this period fall within the early Perón years, though the 1 centavo denomination had been effectively worthless in purchasing terms long before Perón took office in 1946. Wartime copper shortages had already forced composition changes across South American mints in the early 1940s, and Argentina was no exception — KM#37a reflects the shift away from earlier bronze alloys toward simpler copper as strategic metal supplies tightened.
By the late 1940s, inflation was eroding low denominations so rapidly that the centavo had largely vanished from everyday transactions.