Heraldique

Let me share a little trick 😉 for telling whether a coat of arms is 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 English or 🇩🇪German. It doesn’t work all the time—but more often than not, it does. If it’s German, the crest (the figure above the helmet) is usually identical to the one inside the shield itself. The English, on the other hand, tend to go for two different figures—one on the shield, one on the crest. Variety, you know. I won’t say which are more beautiful... but I do have a soft spot for beavers.

Two pictures of the Coat of arms of Gräter, Greter (Patrizier in Biberach) (siehe Stafflangen).

According to sources, the beaver (in German: Biber) appears as a heraldic symbol for "canting" reasons—that is, because it echoes the name of the place or family:

* In the municipality of Stafflangen, the coat of arms—featuring a black beaver crowned in gold on a red background—honors the Gräter family, who held lordship rights over the area.
* This choice is also found in the arms of the city of Biberach an der Riß, where the beaver has appeared since the seal of 1258, referencing the name of the town itself (“Biberach” literally means “beaver stream”).

In heraldry, this is a form of "canting arms": the symbol visually represents the name of its bearer—in this case, the presence of the beaver is directly linked to the "Biber‑" name and the local history.

Unfortunately, I don't speak German—if any barbarian 😅😂🤣 would like to correct me (I'm laughing, of course—thank you in advance!), please do so.

Source: Scheibler'sches Wappenbuch - BSB Cod.icon. 312 c; Standort; München, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek -- Cod.icon. 312 c.; Scheibler'sches Wappenbuch - BSB Cod.icon. 312 c; Entstehung; [S.l.] Süddeutschland um 1450 - 17. Jh.