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2 Ducats Wild Man
| Issuer | City of Lucerne |
|---|---|
| Year | 1695 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Reverse description | Saint Leodegar (Leodegarius), patron saint of Lucerne and bishop-martyr, is depicted enthroned and facing forward, his head nimbate and crowned with a mitre. He is vested in an elaborate mantle with a pectoral cross and holds a crosier in his right hand; his left hand grasps the auger (hand drill), his instrument of martyrdom, while a book is tucked under his left arm. The composition follows the established iconographic tradition for the saint on Lucerne coinage of the period. The circumferential legend, terminated by a cross stop, reads SANCTVS LEODIGARIVS EPISC, identifying the subject as Saint Leodegarius, bishop. |
| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Lucerne's wild man coinage belongs to a tradition rooted in the city's use of the Wilder Mann as a civic heraldic supporter — a figure borrowed from late medieval pageantry that Swiss city-states elevated into official imagery with unusual persistence. By 1695, double ducats of this type were produced in limited quantities, almost certainly for presentation purposes rather than commercial circulation, a practice common among Swiss cantons seeking diplomatic gifts of appropriate weight and local character.
The Wielandt and HMZ references both flag this as a scarce emission, and surviving examples in collectible condition are rarely encountered outside major Swiss auction houses.