María Eva Duarte was born on May 7, 1919, in Los Toldos, in the province of Buenos Aires. In 1934, when she was fifteen years old, she moved to the city of Buenos Aires and began her career as an actress. Ten years later she met then Colonel Juan Domingo Perón, whom she married in December 1945. After her husband took office as president of Argentina, Evita assumed an active role in government. She won the affection of the working classes, whom she called descamisados (a Spanish word meaning “shirtless ones” that came to designate Perón’s chief supporters) and benefited with her work and political action. Evita died on July 26, 1952, when she was 33, a victim to a devastating cancer. Gold and silver proof coins and cupronickel circulated coins have been issued to honor Evita’s memory. The pieces were designed by Carlos Pedro Rodríguez Dufour, the BCRA plastic artist, and minted by Casa de Moneda, the government corporation responsible for minting currency.
		Part of the circulated pieces —5,000— come in cardboard packs with a short biography and the issue specifications. Coins in these packs have a special characteristic —they have a plain edge, whereas the individual ones have a milled edge.