[ANSTHRLD] OT: Outsider looking for Heraldic Consultant

[Alasdair MacEogan]

Tim McDaniel <tmcd at panix.com> wrote:
>  There are arms registration authorities in various countries, but
>  they're like star naming services: you pay a more or less hefty fee to
>  be recorded in their Big Book O' Arms (or Stars) and get a pretty
>  certificate, but nobody else recognizes their acts.  I consider star
>  naming services to be an outright scam.  Unless US arms registries
>  offer some sort of useful service like consultation, I don't see why
>  they'd be any less of a scam.

Part of my point was that there really no such thing as a "family" coat of arms.  That was what I was aiming at initially. ;-)  I see no problem with him creating "arms" to display, just please don't call it a family coat of arms. :-D

Anyway, i did go look up the American College of Heraldry (http://www.americancollegeofheraldry.org/) and did find the following in the FAQ.

"Numerous individuals have no coat of arms of their own and desire the College's assistance in the creation of a pleasing and meaningful design which is technically correct. If you already have an idea for your armorial bearings, you would include it along with the application form and appropriate fees. If you have no idea whatsoever of how your armorial bearings should appear, and need us to help you design them "from scratch," we can do that as well."

So it seems they will help you design the coat of arms as well as register them.  I just can't really find if this service is included in the $325 registration or if that is extra.