Holy Roman Empire, City of Lucerne, Angster

Coins from Zurich were widely spread in the territory of modern Switzerland during the first half of the 13th century. Zurich pfennigs circulated as far as Graubünden, and people paid with coins from Zurich also in Aargau and central Switzerland, including Lucerne. This changed in the course of the 14th century when the mint at Zofingen started to gain importance, thus weakening the monetary ambit of Zurich. Finally the city of Lucerne gor the right to mint coins itself, which further weakened the Zurich coin.

Lucerne obtained the coin prerogative in 1418 by imperial grant. The first issues were hollow pfennigs that already bore the head of Saint Leodegar. 'Bäggliangster' were these coins called in vernacular, 'cheek-angsters,' after the saint's thick cheeks. Lucerne continued to minted 'cheek angsters' throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, which makes it impossible to date those coins.