How do i know if my family crest is real?
Maxi is right. You have to trace your family history. You cannot go by peddlers who sell them on the internet, at shopping malls, in airports, in magazines etc. They sell them like they belong to everyone with the same surname and they don’t. Actually a crest is merely part of a coat of arms. Coats of arms do not belong to surname and in most cases do not belong to families. Now in Scotland there are clan crest. Only the chief is allowed to display a full coat of arms. But a clan member can wear the crest portion as a belt buckle. That’s all. Still you cannot go by your surname alone to determine if you are entitled to a clan crest. Example: O’Connor means descendant or grandson of Conchobhar, but there was more than one Conchobhar that had descendants. In Poland coats of arms do belong to families, dynastic families. I understand they also belong to families in France, but I am not certain. In England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland they are granted and regulated by a specific heraldry a
