National Arms of Cyprus
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Heraldry of the World Civic heraldry of Cyprus |
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National arms of CYPRUS
Origin/meaning
The arms show a pigeon and an olive branch, both symbols of peace. The year 1960 is the year of independence from Great Britain.
 The arms on a coin |
Colonial arms
The British Crown Colony of Cyprus used until the early 20th century a single red lion, and later, until 1960, two lions based on the arms of England. Both were used by the authorities, but none was ever officially granted.
 The arms on a cigarette card, 1910s. |
 The arms on a coin, 1901. |
 The arms with two lions. |
 The arms on a coin, 1901. |
North Cyprus
These arms were adopted on March 12, 2007.
The de-facto independent, but not recognised, Republic of North Cyprus uses the same design as Cyprus, but with the addition of a crescent and star (taken from the arms of Turkey) and the date 1983; the date of 'independence'.
 The arms on a coin |
Literature : Pedersen, 1979; old image provided by Mike Oettle, South Africa; arms of North Cyprus from http://www.kktcb.eu/index.php