Jonathan Webster wrote:Then what about having a cheaper option? In Scotland and South Africa, potential armigers can apply for Arms consisting of just the shield and motto for a fraction of the price of a full achievement. In England and the rest of the UK outside of Scotland, you have to pay full price, including the crest. In Scotland, matriculating just the shield costs about £1000. In South Africa, it costs just £300. Perhaps if the College of Arms introduced a similar option more people would be encouraged to apply. After all, they could always apply for a grant of a crest later should they so wish.
Here's the way the Canadian Heraldic Authority breaks down its pricing.
- Processing fee $435 plus tax.
- Basic design $325 to $1,200 depending on complexity.
- Calligraphy and artwork for Option I (computer generated certificate and separate painting of the arms), $875 to $2,000.
- Calligraphy and arwork for Option II (hand lettered and painted letters patent, a la College of Arms), $2,225 to $3,500.
So the total could hypothetically run anywhere from $1,635 (simple design with Option I) to $5,135 for complex design with Option II. The CHA website advises that a petitioner should expect to spend at least $2,400.
(This is all Canadian dollars, but right now the Canadian and U.S. dollars are almost at par, so I haven't bothered with conversion.)
My understanding is that the CHA is required to set its pricing to recover the costs of running the operation. I would assume that includes salaries, but don't know that for a fact.
Lord Lyon's current (April 1, 2013) price for a new grant of personal arms with crest and motto is £2,236 ($3,480). As Jonathan says, a matriculation is only £1,012, but that presupposes the existence of a previous grant. As I recall, Lyon Court submits an annual accounting of costs and income that is a matter of public record, but I have no idea where one would find it.
For comparison, the last price I saw for an Irish grant was €3,300 ($4,400) as of a few years ago. The College charges £4,950 as of this January, which equates to $7,500.
As a matter of interest, Francois Velde has a graph of the cost of English grants from 1526 to 2007 adjusted for inflation at http://www.heraldica.org/topics/britain ... t_fees.jpg. It is based on research that he, Derek Howard, and I posted on rec.heraldry five or so years back.