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NOW FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE...

1963

BRONZE INGOT MEDAL

FACE DEPICTS A COAT OF ARMS

WITH A HERALDIC 5 POINT STAR

FOLLOWED BY 3 ROLLING WAVES

A LETTER 'K'

AND LAUREL WREATHS

THE MEDALLION MEASURES ABOUT 35mm X 50mm

 EXTENSIVE RESEARCH HAS PRODUCED NO MAKER
UNKNOWN ORIGIN

HOWEVER IT WAS PURCHASED IN A GROUP OF COINS, TOKENS AND MEDALS FROM THE FORMER SOVIET UNION, EASTERN BLOCK

CZECHOSLOVAKIA, BULGARIA, AND GERMANY.
WE SUSPECT IT IS FROM A EUROPEAN CITY OR STATE(?)

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FYI

A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield, escutcheon, surcoat, or tabard. A coat of arms is used to cover, protect, and identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth in European societies. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement which consists of shield, supporters, crest, and motto. The design is a symbol unique to an individual person, and to his family, corporation, or state. Such displays are commonly called armorial bearings, armorial devices, heraldic devices, or simply armorials, or arms.

The ancient Romans used insignia similar to coats of arms on their shields, but these were identifiers of military units and not of individuals. The first evidence of medieval coats of arms is found in the Bayeux Tapestry from the 11th Century, where some of the combatants carry shields painted with crosses. Coats of arms came into general use by feudal lords and knights in battle in the 12th Century. By the 13th Century arms had spread beyond their initial battlefield use to become a kind of flag or logo for families in the higher social classes of Europe, inherited from one generation to the next. Exactly who had a right to use arms, by law or social convention, varied to some degree between countries. In the German-speaking region both the aristocracy and burghers used arms, while in most of the rest of Europe they were limited to the aristocracy. The use of arms spread to Church clergy, and to towns as civic identifiers, and to royally-chartered organizations such as universities and trading companies. Flags developed from coats of arms, and the arts of vexillology and heraldry are closely related. The coats of arms granted to commercial companies are a major source of the modern logo.

Despite no widespread regulation, and even with a lack in many cases of national regulation, heraldry has remained rather consistent across Europe, where traditions alone have governed the design and use of arms. Unlike seals and other general emblems, heraldic achievements have a formal description called a blazon, expressed in a jargon that allows for consistency in heraldic depictions.

In the 21st century, coats of arms are still in use by a variety of institutions and individuals; for example, universities have guidelines on how their coats of arms may be used, and protect their use as trademarks. Many societies exist that also aid in the design and registration of personal arms. Some nations, like England and Scotland, still maintain to this day the authorities that grant and regulate arms.

In the heraldic traditions of England and Scotland an individual, rather than a family, had a coat of arms. In those traditions coats of arms are legal property transmitted from father to son; wives and daughters could also bear arms modified to indicate their relation to the current holder of the arms. Undifferenced arms are used only by one person at any given time. Other descendants of the original bearer could bear the ancestral arms only with some difference: usually a color change or the addition of a distinguishing charge. One such charge is the label, which in British usage (outside the Royal Family) is now always the mark of an heir apparent or (in Scotland) an heir presumptive.

Because of their importance in identification, particularly in seals on legal documents, the use of arms was strictly regulated; few countries continue in this today. This has been carried out by heralds and the study of coats of arms is therefore called "heraldry". Some other traditions (e.g., Polish heraldry) are less restrictive allowing, for example, all members of a dynastic house or family to use the same arms, although one or more elements may be reserved to the head of the house.

In time, the use of arms spread from military entities to educational institutes, and other establishments. According to a design institute article, "The modern logo and corporate livery have evolved from the battle standard and military uniform of medieval times".

In his book, The Visual Culture of Violence in the Late Middle Ages, Valentin Groebner argues that the images composed on coats of arms are in many cases designed to convey a feeling of power and strength, often in military terms. The author Helen Stuart argues that some coats of arms were a form of corporate logo. Museums on medieval armory also point out that as emblems they may be viewed as precursors to the corporate logos of modern society, used for group identity formation.

(THIS PICTURE FOR DISPLAY ONLY)

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