Coat of arms of Puerto Rico

The coat of arms of Puerto Rico was first granted by the Spanish Crown on November 8, 1511, making it the oldest heraldic achievement in use in the Americas. The territory was seized from Spain and ceded to the United States as a result of the Treaty of Paris that put an end to the Spanish–American War in 1899, after which two interim arms were adopted briefly. A law was passed in 1905 that reestablished the historical armorial bearings as the arms of the territory. Then in 1976, after numerous investigations and amendments, the current version was adopted.

History

The main element of the coat of arms of Puerto Rico is the Lamb of God. Despite Puerto Rico being a US territory, the shield continues to have elements reminiscent of Spain's presence in the New World. There have been different variations of the coat of arms throughout Puerto Rico's history. On March 1, 1902, a new coat of arms was approved by Governor William H. Hunt with the intention of reflecting the United States’ involvement in Puerto Rico. This was the coat of arms that became the substitute for the oldest heraldic achievement in use in the Americas. This coat of arms was referred to as the “Escudo Intruso” by the Puerto Rican people. Governor Regis H. Post re-introduced the historical coat of arms which includes the lamb on March 9, 1905. The current version was officially readopted by the government of Puerto Rico on June 3, 1976.

1767	1873–74	1902–1905	1905	1976–present

1767 Design	First Spanish Republic	"Americanized" ''coat of arms	Reintroduction of the historical arms	Corrected coat of arms''

Great Seal

All of the states and territories of the United States employ a seal to authenticate and ratify documents and accordingly a seal of Puerto Rico exists, but the traditional coat of arms is used as the main emblem of the territory. The seal has most of the elements of the coat of arms, but the religious elements have been stripped away in accordance with the separation of church and state in the United States. In the seal, the lamb, which no longer has a halo, carries a white banner instead of one with a Red Cross. The book the lamb sits on does not have the seals of the Book of Revelation. The first Governors used the seal as their emblem but in recent years the usage of the seal has been limited to being the official emblem used to represent Puerto Rico on its legal documents when they are sealed.

Seal of the governor

The seal of the governor is the official symbol of the executive head of Puerto Rico. It follows the design used by the seal of the president of the United States. There are several variants of the governor's seal in use.

Seals of the government of Puerto Rico

There are several seals of the different sections of the Puerto Rican government.