Coat of Arms of Iceland

From Freepedia

The "Coat of arms of Iceland" can hardly be called so, rather an emblem, since Iceland has been neutral from the beginning of it's settlement in the late 9th century. The coat, or "Skjaldamerkið", is the four protectors of Iceland (vættir) standing on a pahoehoe lava block with the Icelandic flag in the front. The bull (Griðungur) is the protector of the southwestern Iceland, the eagle or griffin (Gammur) protects northwestern Iceland, the dragon (Dreki) the northeastern part and the Rock-giant (Bergrisi) is the protector of southeastern Iceland. Great respect was given to these creatures of Iceland, so much that it was a law in the days of the Vikings that no ship should bear grimacing symbols (most often dragonheads on each end of the ship) when approaching Iceland. This was so the protectors would not be spooked unnecceseraly.

The Icelandic emblem decorates the reverse (back) of Icelandic coins but animals of the ocean (fish, crab, dolphins) appear on the obverse (front). Government agencies are the only ones who can fly an Icelandic flag with the emblem. Those flags are most often cleaved or triangular shaped. It comes in many editions but the one displayed here is the most common.