How much does an 8.5x11 family coat of arms sell for?

What?! So cool.

Thanks MonicaJacobson. Any input on what this can go for?

Hi sorry i can offer no advice as i am a beginner, but i had to tell you i think this is fantastic, what a great idea.

Doubletap, you need to figure how many hours this takes you. Then figure what your time is worth; multiply the two, and add material cost

That's shaping up to be a nice piece of work, but I wouldn't go down that route.

Despite what lots of unscrupulous genealogy websites tell you, there is no such thing as a "family crest" or a "family coat of arms". Heraldic armory belongs to individuals, not families, and it is real heritable property.

You can't use another person's heraldry just because you share the same surname any more than you can go and live in their house or drive off in their car just because you share a name. Doing so is illegal in many jurisdictions.

I happen to own armory of my own, thanks to my father. Obtaining arms was a very expensive process and I would have no more tolerance for someone who stole my armory than I would if they stole any other part of my identity.

Both the Garter King of Arms (the English / Commonwealth heraldic authority) and Lord Lyon King of Arms (the Scottish heraldic authority) are extremely clear on this on their websites, which are the authoritative websites on heraldry and armory in the world.

Lord Lyon's website says:

There is a widespread misconception that a family or a clan can have a family or clan Coat of Arms. Many heraldic and clan web sites and other media suggest that a person has the right to use the family or clan Arms. This is completely incorrect.

A Coat of Arms belongs only to one individual person and can only be used by that person and no one else. In order for a person to be able to use a Coat of Arms it is necessary for that individual person to apply for a personal Coat of Arms to be granted to him or her .

From: http://www.lyon-court.com/lordlyon/216.181.html

The English College of Arms has the following as the very first item in their FAQ:

Q. Do coats of arms belong to surnames?

A. No. There is no such thing as a 'coat of arms for a surname'. Many people of the same surname will often be entitled to completely different coats of arms, and many of that surname will be entitled to no coat of arms. Coats of arms belong to individuals. For any person to have a right to a coat of arms they must either have had it granted to them or be descended in the legitimate male line from a person to whom arms were granted or confirmed in the past.

From: http://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/resources/faqs

So, irrespective of the quality of your work and the value of your time, selling "family" coats of arms in any form is dishonest at best, and potentially illegal.

Wow amuckart thanks for the information! I have no intention of doing this on a regular basis as I stated it's a little out of my normal course of projects. I was approached by someone who has been going at their genealogy for some time now, and I was asked to duplicate something they already had...onto leather. I am not selling anything, merely inquiring how much a project like this could fetch given time and material...Matt T. answered my question in that regard.

That is really good information to have though, I had no idea the Coat of Arms belonged to individuals...and that it is granted or legitimately passed down.

Again, thanks for the heads up!

No problem. Unfortunately these "genealogy" websites are numerous, and almost all of them peddle wildly inaccurate information (a lot of it simply made up, or recycled from other sites that made it up) and not many people in this day and age know about what heraldry means or how it works.

Love it, this is beautiful.