Menton (Alpes-Maritimes)
MENTON
Département : Alpes-Maritimes
| French |
Parti: au 1er d'azur à saint Michel archange le bras dextre levé tenant un glaive, la pointe en bas, la senestre tenant une balance, terrassant le démon armé de sa fourche, le tout d'or; au 2e d'argent au citronnier au naturel fruité d'or posé entre deux monts de sinople, le tout soutenu d'une mer d'azur mouvant de la pointe et au comble du même chargé de trois étoiles d'argent et au franc-canton senestre de gueules chargé de la lettre capitale F d'or. |
| English | blazon wanted |
Origin/meaning
The traditional arms of Menton show the local patron saint, St. Michael, slaying a dragon, with the words Defensor and Mentoni (Defending Menton). These arms were used throughout the 19th century, but during the 20th century the dragon changed into a devil.
In 1848 the Provisional Commission of the Government of Menton used different arms, with an orange tree and a chief with three stars. These are the arms of the May family from Villefranche.
When Charles III of Monaco gave up his rights over the city (1861) and ceded them to Napoleon III, the letter F of the French canton was replaced by an N for Napoleon between 1865 and 1870. The free canton with the letter F was removed officially in the 1950s, but is currently used again.
 The arms in the Café Sanka album +/- 1932 |
 The traditional arms as shown in the late 1990s |
 The arms on a postcard by Kroma without the F |
 The arms on a 1953 medal (image Wikipedia) |
On different souvenir postcards the arms have been shown rather differently:
The arms on a 1952 postcard
The arms on a 1960s postcard
The arms on a 1970s postcard
The arms on a 1971 postcard
The arms on a 1974 postcard
The arms on a 1974 postcard
The arms on a 1981 postcard
The arms on a 1982 postcard
The arms on a 1980s postcard
The arms on a 1991 postcard
The arms on a 1994 postcard
The arms as used in the town (images Derek Howard, 2019):
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© since 1995, Heraldry of the World, Ralf Hartemink 
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Literature: Image taken from La banque du blason (with permission); Ciaudo, 1992; Postcard images from Delcampe