Evert Meulie esq. fed this fish to the penguins: > Is there any way I can verify that the coat of arms I received is > actually that of the Meulie family, and not something that has been > made by some random coat of arms generator program? ;) Very simple -- Arms WERE NOT GRANTED TO FAMILIES. The coat would have been granted to one individual and, traditionally, inherited by the eldest son (though even that inheritance had to be confirmed by the government body in charge of arms). So... you would have to prove direct descent via the eldest sons to the person to whom the arms were originally granted. What these companies rely upon, in the US, is that US law does not grant arms, nor does it consider arms to have any significance. In the US, one is free to assume whatever arms one wishes. One could run into problems if they were to travel to the country that originally issued the arms these companies are selling and encountered the person with the right to bear them. Most such dealers, in an attempt at honesty, will only state that the arms had been granted to a person of that name, with no explanation of the rules applicable to the bearing of them in the society in which they were granted. Dennis Lee Bieber <wlfraed@ix.netcom.com>