Coat of arms of Argentina | |
---|---|
Armiger | Argentine Republic |
Adopted | 1944 (1813) |
Crest | A Sun of May or |
Shield | Party per fess azure and argent, in base two arms throughout fessways, the hands shaking and holding a pike paleways proper ensigned on the top with a Phrygian cap gules. |
Other elements | Around the shield two sprigs of laurel vert tied together in base by a ribbon azure charged with a fess argent |
The coat of arms of the Argentine Republic or Argentine shield [1] (Spanish: Escudo de la República Argentina) was established in its current form in 1944 but has its origins in the seal of the General Constituent Assembly of 1813.[2] It is supposed that it was chosen quickly because of the existence of a decree signed on February 22 sealed with the symbol.[3] The first mention of it in a public document dates to March 12 of that same year, in which it is stated that the seal had to be used by the executive power, that is, the second triumvirate. On April 13 the National Assembly coined the new silver and gold coins, each with the seal of the assembly on the reverse, and on April 27 the coat of arms became a national emblem. Although the coat of arms is not currently shown on flags, the Buenos Aires-born military leader Manuel Belgrano ordered to paint it over the flag he gave to the city of San Salvador de Jujuy, and during the Argentine War of Independence most flags had the coat of arms.
En adelante se adoptará como representación del escudo argentino, la reproducción fiel del Sello que usó la Soberana Asamblea General Constituyente de la Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata, el mismo que ésta ordenó en sesión de 12 de marzo de 1813, usase el Poder Ejecutivo.
Como testimonio de ello, se conservan dos cartas de ciudadanía expedidas por la Asamblea el 22 de Febrero de 1813, donde figura el Escudo estampado en lacre: una de ellas se conserva en el Museo Histórico Nacional, extendida a favor de Don Antonio Olavaria, y está firmada por el presidente del cuerpo, general Carlos María de Alvear, y el secretario, Don Hipólito Vieytes.