Coat of arms of Albania

Coat of arms of Albania
Coat of arms of the Republic
Versions
Seal of the President
Seal of the Prime Minister
Armiger	Republic of Albania
Adopted	28 November 1998 (by presidential decree nr. 2260) 10 July 2003 (standardized by government decision nr. 474)
Shield	Gules within a bordure narrow Or, charged by a bicapitate eagle displayed Sable, in chief a helm adorned with rosettes upon which sits a goat's head erased Or dexter proper.
Earlier version(s)	from: 1914–1998 1914–1925, Principality of Albania 1926–1929, Albanian Republic 1929–1939, Albanian Kingdom 1939–1943, Kingdom of Albania 1946–1992, Communist Albania 1992–1998, Republic of Albania
Use	in the seals and at the entrance of state institutions; as a distinctive sign in state objects; in all official acts; in documents and agreements of the Albanian state with foreign countries, based on reciprocity.

The coat of arms of Albania (Albanian: Stema e Republikës së Shqipërisë) is an adaptation of the flag of Albania and is based on the symbols of Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg. It features the black double-headed eagle, documented in official use since 1458, as evidenced from a sealed document uncovered in the Vatican Secret Archive (fund: Miscellanea, vol. XXXIX, doc. 2398), addressed to Pope Pius II and co-sealed by notary Johannes Borcius de Grillis.^[1] The stylized gold helmet is partially based on the model of crown-like rank that once belonged to Skanderbeg, currently on display at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, first mentioned in 1593 in the Ambras armory inventory and depicted in 1601/03 in the "Armamentarium Heroicum" of Jakob Schrenck von Notzing. The ruler of Austria, Ferdinand II, acquired the helmet from the Duke of Urbino, so mentioned in a letter sent to him from the duke, dated 15 October 1578.^[2]

The helmet as an integral component in the coat of arms was instituted for the first time by the president of the republic Ahmet Zogu on 12 July 1926.