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Heraldry Crests and Coats of Arms / Re: Family crests
« on: Monday 22 October 12 14:13 BST (UK) »The straight answer to your question is that the commercial companies who try to sell you goods bearing these coats of arms want you to be able to see them without the ability to reproduce them.
It is extremely worrying that some of them try to sell you "a crest" when they are actually offering a shield taken from a coat of arms. Unfortunately in the USA the word crest seems to be used for almost any part of a coat of arms. There is a lot less of a problem with you using a crest if this is what you intend, as the same crest will be found in many coats of arms.
A coat of arms is a combination of shield, upon which are the arms; a mantle, the feathered cloth which represents the sun cloth at the rear of a helmet, and the helm or headgear, upon which may be a crest. This is a distinguishing element which may also be found on the field of arms.