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Coats of arms of the Union of South Africa

Posted: 28 Aug 2020, 19:48
by Mark Henderson
As seen recently on The Heraldry Ireland @heraldryl Twitter "Coats of arms of the Union of South Africa from 1910 to 1961 and South Africa from 1961 to 2000." Link: https://notescollector.eu/pages/en/notes.php?noteId=1179

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Re: Coats of arms of the Union of South Africa

Posted: 28 Aug 2020, 20:42
by Arthur Radburn
A nice plate showing the three official renditions of the arms. Although the present arms were introduced in 2000, the original 1910 rendition of the old arms actually survived until 2002, as a defence force rank badge, and the 1932 rendition survived on medals until 2003/04.

The four provincial arms shown in the upper right section never actually existed except on paper. They were granted by King George V in 1911, to cover up a mistake which the Royal Mint had made in the design of the Great Seal of the Union, and were hushed up until 1937. When they were eventually revealed, none of the provinces wanted them, and they lay unused for a further seventeen years until Queen Elizabeth II cancelled them in 1954.

Re: Coats of arms of the Union of South Africa

Posted: 28 Aug 2020, 20:54
by Mark Henderson
Thanks for the clarification Arthur.