State Crest Badge

[gary meakin]

This discussion has me looking for an "old Man in the Mountain" pin

[Zardoz]

I don't know how it works in other places, but in Texas our 'State Seal of Texas' (which is based on our former 'Great Seal of the Republic of Texas') belongs to the people of Texas. http://www.lsjunction.com/seal.htm

It is controlled by the The Office of the Secretary of State for the people. While private use of the State seal, including the state arms, is regulated by law, the seal may be used for commercial purposes like on jewelry, clothing etc., if a license is obtained from the Secretary of State and royalties are paid to the State. So someone could certainly make and sell kilt or bonnet pins with our State Seal if they did all the paperwork and paid us! Which is likely why Glen Esk's Texas kilt pin looks like this;


Which is still cool, because you can scratch that shape in the dirt in a central American jungle and the locals will say "Texas"

[Whidbey78]

Which is still cool, because you can scratch that shape in the dirt in a central American jungle and the locals will say "Texas"

I think the idea of a cap badge showing one's home state is a nice idea, but I'll pass for now since I'm far from my home state and would tire of explaining why I have a Washington pin. Apparently it shocks Nebraskans that people can be, and often are, from other places.**No offense to Nebraskans intended--they are good people, and my Mother is a very proud native Husker**

One problem with state outlines (beside being from Wyoming or Colorado) is that, with the exception of Texas, a lot of people out there can't identify states by shape. Many people, sadly, can't find their own state on a map, and recognizing another is simply too much to ask. I would get tired of having people ask me what "that shape" is.

That's why I scraped this off the back window of my truck a few months after moving here from The Sound:


People not recognizing the state was bad enough...but try living in the Nebraska Sandhills with a dive sticker on your truck. Nobody had the slightest clue what this means and I got sick of explaining it. Worse yet, one of the last people who asked me about it knew what the flag was, because he was also a diver, but didn't know the state, even though he said he was from Portland...right across the &*%$ river from Vancouver, WA! It drove me NUTS!

But, to each his own. Wear yours with pride. I won't be the guy asking you what it is.