20 Awesome Coats Of Arms

Step aside, flags.

Flags are overrated. Coat of Arms is where the action is.

Just about every city, county, and nation in this world has its own emblem; its own hand-crafted logo passed down from one generation to the next to illustrate something about the spirit of that place.

Some are so awesome that they deserve a closer look.

1. Arkhangelsk, Russia

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Anyone who lives in Arkhangelsk is tough enough to endure 10 months of sub-arctic winter weather. Their coat of arms of an angel stabbing a devil to death is appropriately bad-ass.

2. Botswana

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Zebras and cogs. And the Chicago Bulls logo?

3. Zheleznogorsk

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Zheleznogorsk was a top-secret city in Russia that was hidden from maps during the Cold War. Why? Because they built nuclear weapons there. Hence, Russia's bear clawing an atom apart.

4. Thailand

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This is a Garuda; a mythological beast of Hindu and Buddhist legend. It's the mount of the god Vishnu in the form of a man-bird hybrid and his wingspan is over 5300 kilometers across! That's about three times the length of Thailand itself. Coat of arms, indeed!

5. Irkutsk, Russia

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True weird fact about this coat of arms: It originally featured a Siberian tiger, known as a "babr". But in the 1870's someone of importance mistook "babr" for "bobr" which means "beaver". The crest changed to reflect this typo!

6. Palau

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Gotta love that little dude's face.

7. Mongolia

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Mongolia's groovy emblem features a wind horse, a Buddhist allegory for the human soul.

We should only be so lucky if our soul looks that that.

8. Vahrushev, Russia

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This crest elevates a chunk of coal to the epic level of Lord Of The Rings.

9. Grenada

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Armadillos live on Caribbean Islands. This is the kind of thing you can learn from crests.

10. The Bahamas

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Marlins and Flamingos; forward, upward, onward, together.

Oh, and that's Christopher Columbus headed their way in the Santa María.

11. White Rock, Canada

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Up where they walk, up where they run

Up where they stay all day in the sun

Wanderin' free - wish I could be

Part of that world.

12. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

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This crest exists solely for Prince Philip, husband of England's Queen who is best known for his cringe-worthy gaffes.

Why does a member of the royal family have a naked guy on his crest? Because that's Hercules. Strength!

13. Nunavut, Canada

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Narwhals rarely emerge fully from water, but they are always willing to help a caribou lift an igloo.

14. Oxford, UK

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That is a green beaver. A green beaver.

15. South Ossetia

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For a disputed region whose independence is only recognized by only four UN Member states, the crest's use of the endangered snow leopard may be uncomfortably appropriate.

16. Toronto

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This is the world's coziest coat of arms. Doesn't it make you feel like a toddler in footie pajamas reading a storybook before bedtime?

17. City of Abaza, Russia

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Clearly, Russia leads the world in strange coat of arms.

18. Cambodia

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What you are looking at here is a Gajasingha (a lion with an elephant trunk) and a Singha (just a regular lion) holding five-tiered umbrellas. Because a one-tiered umbrella just won't cut it against that Cambodian sunshine.

19. Australia

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The coat of arms on top was discontinued in 1912, and became the bottom one. I guess they felt like the emu was uncomfortable with its leg propped up like that.