Republic of Cuba, 1906

The Cuban coat of arms, the official heraldic symbol of Cuba, was created by Miguel Teurbe Tolón and adopted on 24 April 1906. It consists of a shield in front of a fasces crowned by the Phrygian cap, as a crown symbolising liberty with a sole star on it standing for independence. On the shield a key, a symbol of Cuba as the key to the Americas, is on a blue sea between two rocks symbolising Cuba’s geographical position between Florida and the Yucatán Peninsula. A bright rising sun in the background symbolises the rising of the new republic. On the left are the stripes of the flag of Cuba but turned diagonally. On the right is a common Cuban landscape, the Royal Palm tree, a symbol of Cuba, with mountains in the background. All is supported by an oak branch on one side and a laurel wreath on the other.