The coat of arms Finland 2.1.1985

1,50 mk light blue definitive stamps model m75. Designed by Pirkko Vahtero. Issued on 02.01.1985. The coat of arms of Finland is a crowned lion on a red field, the right forepaw replaced with an armoured hand brandishing a sword, trampling on a saber with the hind paws. The coat of arms was originally created around the year 1580.

The lion in Nordic heraldry is quite common in Western Europe, and several European countries incorporate it into their national coats of arms. In Nordic heraldry, the lion is first-found in the coat of arms of Denmark in the later part of the 12th century. Starting in the 12th century, the territory of today's Finland was gradually incorporated into the Swedish kingdom, and this coincided with the period when coats of arms first came into use in northern Europe. The first known use of the lion in Sweden was on the royal seals of Erik Knutsson (died 1216) and Erik Eriksson (1216–50), who used two and three lions on their seal, respectively. The first king of the Folkunga family, Valdemar Birgersson (1239–1302), also used 3 lions on his seal (Figure 2).

Finland as a duchy. Bengt Birgersson, the first Duke of Finland (1254–91, Duke from 1284 until 1291), and Valdemar Magnusson, the second Duke (died 1318, Duke of Finland from 1302 until 1317), both used the later Folkunga coat of arms, which was a crowned lion rampant with three bends sinister, the main difference being that Valdemar's arms had the field strewn with hearts. This version of the arms was quite similar to the modern coat of arms of Finland, but the lion did not yet brandish any weapon. My Dear friend Pia gave me this FDC.