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Doppio Ducato - Ludovico II
| Issuer | Marquisate of Saluzzo |
|---|---|
| Year | 1474-1504 |
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| Currency | Testone |
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| Obverse description | Left-facing armored bust of Marquis Ludovico II, depicted in profile with long flowing hair and wearing a brimmed cap over a cuirass with articulated pauldron visible at the shoulder. The effigy is rendered in a refined Italian Renaissance style with careful attention to facial features and military attire. The bust is set within a raised inner circle, around which the Latin legend is arranged in the outer field. The inscription reads: ☩ LVDOVICVS · M · SALVTIARVM · : · |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A crowned imperial eagle displayed with wings spread, facing left, bearing on its breast an escutcheon charged with the quartered arms of the Marquisate of Saluzzo. The eagle is rendered in a bold heraldic style typical of late 15th-century Italian coinage. The reverse legend, arranged in the outer field around the central device, invokes the patron saint of Saluzzo. The inscription reads: · SANCTVS · CONSTANTIVS · : · |
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| Additional information |
Ludovico II ruled Saluzzo as a vassal caught perpetually between the competing pressures of Savoy, France, and Milan — a geopolitical bind that shaped nearly every political and financial decision of his thirty-year marquisate. The doppio ducato was an assertion of monetary ambition unusual for a territory of Saluzzo's modest size, effectively doubling the standard ducato weight to produce a prestige piece more suited to diplomatic exchange than everyday commerce.
The French connection proved decisive: Ludovico's alignment with the Valois court following Charles VIII's 1494 Italian campaigns brought him temporary security but long-term dependency. These coins likely circulated as much across the Alps as within the marquisate itself.