page_title: National coat of arms
section_title: Heraldic achievements
hierarchical_section_title: National coat of arms / Types of national coats of arms / Heraldic achievements
caption_attribution_description: Suomi: Suomen passin kansi EU-väreissä 2006- (biometrinen passi) English: Finnish passport cover 2006- (biometric passport) Русский: Финский биометрический паспорт, выпускается с 2006 года
context_page_description: A national coat of arms is a symbol which denotes an independent state in the form of a heraldic achievement. While a national flag is usually used by the population at large and is flown outside and on ships, a national coat of arms is normally considered a symbol of the government or the head of state personally and tends to be used in print, on heraldic china, and as a wall decoration in official buildings. The royal arms of a monarchy, which may be identical to the national arms, are sometimes described as arms of dominion or arms of sovereignty.
  An important use for national coats of arms is as the main symbol on the covers of passports, the document used internationally to prove the citizenship of a person.
  For a symbol to be called a "national coat of arms", it should follow the rules of heraldry. If it does not, then the symbol is not formally a coat of arms but rather a national emblem. However, many unheraldic national emblems are colloquially called national coats of arms anyway, because they are used for the same purposes as national coats of arms.
context_section_description: The original national coats of arms were (and continue to be) heraldic arms, which have a shield (escutcheon) which carries symbols upon it (charges) and often other symbols such as a crown on top of the shield and supporters. In the real sense of the word, these national coats of arms are the only ones which should be called coats of arms, since that term reflects that the emblem used is following the rules of heraldry. Heraldry originated in Western Europe and has now spread to all parts of the world.
  Up until the 20th century, most independent nations in the civilized world were monarchies and therefore used the monarchistic style of coat of arms. This style is illustrated below by the Swedish Greater Arms and the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom, both of which are still in use. Characteristic of this style are the escutcheon (shield) of the kingdom, the supporters on either side (usually beasts as in these cases, but may also be birds, fishes, humans/humanoids or even inanimate objects as depicted on the coat of arms of Spain) and the crown topping the arms. The crown on the UK arms is specifically St Edward's Crown. Both also feature a symbol of the monarch's chivalric order encircling the escutcheon: the chain of the Order of the Seraphim on the Swedish arms and the belt of the Order of the Garter on the UK's arms. A motto is often present either below or above the escutcheon (as shown on the UK arms); this is absent on the Swedish arms. In common with many European monarchies, the Swedish arms features a representation of a royal robe (see mantle and pavilion) topped with another crown, which became common around the 19th century (and which can also be seen in the Romanian arms below); This type of mantle does not feature at all in British heraldry.  The Swedish arms also feature an inescutcheon, a secondary escutcheon within the main one which represents (in this case) the monarch's dynasty, although they may also represent other things. The UK's arms feature a helmet with mantling and crest which are absent from the Swedish arms. These features were all commonly used among the arms of European kingdoms.
  The lion (sometimes referred to as a leopard when depicted walking; not to be confused with the non-heraldic leopard), being a symbol of power and sovereignty, as well as of Jesus (the Lion of Judah), is a common charge on monarchal coats of arms and features on the coats of arms of all surviving European kingdoms (i.e. the coats of arms of Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain (where it represents León), Sweden, and the UK), as well as several former monarchies.
  There is much diversity in the coats of arms of the European republics. Many have chosen to use the same coat of arms they used as monarchies (or as part of monarchies) or a modified version of it. Finland for example uses the former coat of arms of the Grand Duke of Finland, a title held by the Swedish Monarch until 1809 and then by the Russian Emperor until 1917. Other examples include Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, and Estonia, all of which also feature lions.
  Like lions, eagles were common charges in the arms of many former European monarchies (although they do not feature on the arms of any surviving European monarchies). Double-headed eagles were also associated with imperial power (specifically that of the Byzantine, Holy Roman, Austrian, Serbian and Russian Empires). Single-headed eagles can be found today on the coats of arms of Poland, Germany, and Romania; double-headed eagles can be found on the coats of arms of Russia (without the ermine mantling and crown of the Russian Empire), Serbia, Montenegro, and Albania. Austria uses a single-headed eagle as a supporter for its coat of arms, but this is officially unrelated to and distinct from the double-headed eagle used by the former Austrian Empire; the escutcheon (gules, a fess argent) is however a pre-republic symbol dating back to the middle ages. Eagles also feature prominently as supporters on the coats of arms of Arab states, having been derived from the Eagle 
caption: The Finnish coat of arms on the front cover of a Finnish passport with both Swedish and Finnish text.
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