Philip of Heinsberg held the archbishopric from 1167 to 1191, and his tenure was defined less by ecclesiastical administration than by aggressive territorial expansion and near-constant political conflict with Frederick Barbarossa. He allied with Henry the Lion against the emperor, then switched sides — twice — as the political winds shifted. The coinage of his archbishopric reflects the period when Cologne was functioning as much as a secular military power as a church institution.
The narrow dating to 1175–1181 distinguishes this issue from Philip's broader mint output, which spanned two decades and produced considerable variety.
Philip of Heinsberg held the archbishopric from 1167 to 1191, and his tenure was defined less by ecclesiastical administration than by aggressive territorial expansion and near-constant political conflict with Frederick Barbarossa. He allied with Henry the Lion against the emperor, then switched sides — twice — as the political winds shifted. The coinage of his archbishopric reflects the period when Cologne was functioning as much as a secular military power as a church institution.
The narrow dating to 1175–1181 distinguishes this issue from Philip's broader mint output, which spanned two decades and produced considerable variety.