Celebrate the 450th
Anniversary of St. Augustine

The Coat of Arms found at the entrance to the Castillo de San Marcos (Castle of Saint Mark) was likely used as the unofficial seal of St. Augustine Florida for more than 100 years, and it was used extensively during St. Augustine's 400th anniversary in 1965. Our version is ideal for use on products like T-Shirts, Mugs, Tote Bags, and Cell Phone Cases. It looks exceptionally good on black items, but it was designed to stand out on almost any color.

The Coat of Arms can be found on many tourist items like the early St. Augustine postcards found at the right. Many of these postcards are hand colored and date from the late 19th and early 20th century.

During the 19th century color was often added to printed images by hand. It was the most cost efficient way to produce a color image. This became common practice with postcards around 1902. By 1930 many of the same postcards were printed in color from an original that had been hand colored.

Note how precisely the outline of the Castillo’s Coat of Arms was used as a source for the T-Shirt and product artwork. The castles on the shield represent the Arms of Castile, and the rampant lion represents the Arms of Leon. The two kingdoms were joined by the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella in 1469. The grand cordon of the Golden Fleece that surrounds the shield is a chain of alternating firesteels and flints, striking fire, with the Golden Fleece suspended below.