8 Heller - Ernest of Bayern

Ernest of Bavaria served as Archbishop of Cologne from 1583 until his death in 1612, holding the see through one of its most turbulent stretches — the aftermath of the Cologne War, which had erupted when his predecessor Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg converted to Protestantism and attempted to secularize the archbishopric. Ernest's installation, backed by Bavarian Wittelsbach muscle and Spanish Habsburg money, effectively locked Cologne into the Catholic camp for the remainder of the confessional wars.

The fractional silver issues of this reign are notoriously difficult to attribute precisely within the 1583–1612 window, as die production was continuous and undated.