The Coat of arms of Peru is the national symbolic emblem of Peru. Four variants are used: the Coat of arms per se ; the National Coat of arms, or National Shield ; the Great Seal of the State ; and the Naval Coat of arms.
Official description
Peruvian law describes the coat of arms as follows: The arms of the Peruvian Nation shall consist of a shied divided into three fields: one celestial blue to the right, with a vicuna looking inside; other white to the left, with a Cinchona officinalis placed within, and another, red, in the bottom and smaller, with a cornucopia pouring coins, signifying with these symbols the treasures of Peru in the three realms of nature. The coat of arms shall be surmounted by a civic crown in flat view; and accompanied on each side by a flag and a standard of national colors, further described below.
Variants
The Coat of arms
The coat of arms has a palm branch on its left and a laurel one on its right, tied by a red and white ribbon, as well as a Holm oak civic crown above it. These represent victory and glory. This variant is used on the national ensign or state flag. Its use on its own is infrequent, except on currency, both on coins and bills, and stamps.
The National Coat of arms
The National Coat of arms, or National Shield, consists of the shield plus a Peruvian flag and a standard on each side, and a Civic Crown as crest. It is used on the war flag. Its use on its own is mandated for all public buildings, with the name of the entity under it.
The Great Seal of the State, consisting ofthe National Shield and the semicircular inscription "República del Perú" above it, is used on official documents.
The Naval Coat of arms
The Naval Coat of Arms, consists of the National Shield and the semicircular inscription "Marina de Guerra del Peru", along with anchors instead of the traditional flags it is embedded upon, as well as having an image of the sun as the crest. It is used for various naval purposes.
History
First version
The first version of the Coat of Arms of Peru was designed by General José de San Martín and officially declared on 21 October 1820. It consisted of a landscape of Inti the sun rising from the Andes, seen from the sea, and escorted by laurel branches tied with a golden ribbon. In the shield, on a blue sky background, the sun's yellow rays can be seen behind the dark brown mountains rising above the blue and green ocean. The flags of the South American nations and a banana tree can be seen behind the shield. A condor on the left and a llama on the right act as supporters. This was on top of a baroque base, with a scroll under it with the motto "Renació el sol del Perú" in capital letters. Some flowers, branches and ammunition were on the base.
Second version
On 25 February 1825, Simón Bolívar and the Constituent Congress proclaimed a law defining the new national symbols. establishing the new Coat of Arms, similar to the one used today. This was designed by Congressmen José Gregorio Paredes and Francisco Javier Cortés. The official description was the following:
1950 modification
This is the coat of arms used today and is a modification of the second version. Until 1950, the coat of arms was a symbol of both the nation and the state, and presented some difficulties in its design. These generated that, months after its creation, that the seals of ministries modified the law, cutting the width of the shield to design the cornucopia comfortably, and getting rid of the escorting flags. The last modification was in March 1950, during General Manuel A. Odría’s administration. In this way, the coat of arms was split in halves, and the lower section became the largest, rather than the smallest. The national coat of arms was created simultaneously as a heraldic symbol of the State.
