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Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Sierra
Coat of arms of Sierra
Greater (Royal) version
Versions
Coat of arms of Sierra
Lesser (Civil) version
Details
Armiger Kingdom of Sierra
Adopted 1858
Crest Upon the Royal helm the crown of Scotland Proper, thereon a lion sejant affronté Gules armed and langued Azure, Royally crowned Proper holding in his dexter paw a sword and in his sinister a sceptre, both Proper
Torse None
Escutcheon Tierced per fess Azure, Or, and Gules a Mullet purpure fixed in a Roundel Argent
Supporters Dexter, a grizzly bear regardant proper, supporting a like staff, therefrom flowing to the sinister a banner charged with the standard of Saint Andrew, Sinister a deer proper collared or, supporting a like staff, therefrom flowing to the dexter a banner or charged with the Standard of Saint George
Compartment Motto 'Libertas sine sacrificio' in the compartment below the shield, with the Tudor rose, shamrock, and thistle engrafted on the same stem and scroll proper Argent.
Motto IN DEFENS;
LIBERTAS SINE SACRIFICO

(In My Defense, God Me Defend;
Liberty without sacrifice)
Orders Thistle
Other elements Behind the shield a mantle Gules fringed and tasselled Or and lined ermine
Use For all government purposes and uses; personal arms of the Sovereign

The Royal Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Sierra is the personal coat of arms of the monarch of the Kingdom of Sierra. The government of Sierra uses a lesser version without the mantle and the heraldic achievements to represent itself. The coat of arms was adopted on November 27, 1858 and was designed by the Sierran Constitutional Committee incorporating the flag into the coat of arms' crest. The coat of arms is used to represent the civilian government of Sierra and the greater variant is used by the monarchy. Both are used to authenticate any official government documents at the national level. The arms is used extensively in daily life including passports and the dollar. The lesser coat of arms is not an achievement in the traditional heraldic sense as it lacks a crown and several other elements. The royal coat of arms however, features a mantle and a crown, a crest, and other features. Other members of the Sierran Royal Family and the Extended Court use the royal coat of arms but have cadency marks to distinguish each of their arms, unless they possess a special title which warrants a different coat of arms.

Description and symbolism[]

The Constitution officially describes the national arms in Article I, Section 3 after the flag (in Section 2). The blazon reads as:

Tierced per fess Azure, Or, and Gules, overall an inescutcheon charged with the Royal Standard, the whole surrounded by the Thistle; for a Crest, upon the Royal helm the crown of Scotland Proper, thereon a lion sejant affronté Gules armed and langued Azure, Royally crowned Proper holding in his dexter paw a sword and in his sinister a scepter. For Supporters, Dexter, a grizzly bear regardant proper, supporting a like staff, therefrom flowing to the sinister a banner charged with the Standard of Saint Andrew, Sinister a deer proper collared or, supporting a like staff, therefrom flowing to the dexter a banner or charged with the Standard of Saint George. Motto 'Libertas sine sacrifico' in the compartment below the shield, with the Tudor rose, shamrock, and thistle engrafted on the same stem and scroll proper Argent.

The use of the flag on the escutcheon, and the Standards of St. Andrew and St. George (flags of Scotland and England respectively) symbolizes the historical bloodline of the Sierran monarchs of the House of Columbia with the British monarchs of the House of Stuart, and the claim by the Monarch of Sierra that they are also the rightful heir to the British throne (respectively the English, Scottish, and Irish ones, and to a lesser extent, the French throne). The bear represents the strength and courage of Sierra, demonstrating that the government would defend its people at all costs from threats domestic and foreign. The deer serves as a counter to the bear by representing peace and harmony, which are the values and desires of the Sierran people and their culture. The banners which the supporters carry, the Royal Standard and the Banner of St George, represent the Monarch's claims of authority and jurisdiction over Sierra and England (and to the greater extent, the United Kingdom). Both the bear and the deer face to viewer's left, symbolizing Sierra's position on the western coast of North America, as the "Occident Kingdom", and the direction by which the descendants of Stuart moved towards restoring their power. The red lion atop the Crown symbolizes the Monarch's ancestral homeland in Scotland, and the authority of the Monarch.

History[]

The design of the coat of arms was created by the Constitutional Committee under the leadership of Smith C. Miller, the man who would later be crowned King of Sierra and the primary armiger of the arms. The decision to make the coat of arms explicitly as a national arms as opposed to a royal arms was made by Smith himself whom felt that the monarchy owed its legitimacy by the people. With that rationale, the coat of arms truly belonged to the Sierrans, not to the king. Since then, the arms have simultaneously represented the monarchy, the civilian government, and the people as the national coat of arms. However, later during Smith's reign, he decided to have a royal variant of the arms because he wished to distinguish works from the civil government from the family.

Uses[]

The civil coat of arms is used on government documents including passports, treaties, bill, flags, postage stamps, and money. With few exceptions, the coat of arms must be always displayed alongside the flag on all public buildings at the federal, provincial, and local level. Schools are the most notable exception to this requirement which are only legally required to display the flag, not the arms. The royal coat of arms is almost always only used on papers signed by the Monarchy and on property pertaining to the family.

Businesses which receive a royal warrant by the Crown are legally privileged to display the royal coat of arms on their products, offices, and documents. Use of the official coat of arms by any other businesses or organizations as an attempt to give the impression that they were sanctioned by the Crown is treated as copyright infringement in spite the fact the arms itself is within the public domain. However, unless the arms was blatantly misrepresented, there have been very few incidents where businesses were punished for their unapproved use of the arms.

Coat of arms and seals of countries, PSAs, and territories[]

Seals of government bodies, military, and public institutions[]

Coat of arms and seals of counties, cities, towns, and municipalities[]

See also[]

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