These are the ancient coat of arms of France (three fleurs-de-lis), the ancient coat of arms of Crown of Castile for Spain (Castile quartering León), the modern Union Jack of the United Kingdom (anachronistically, since a different version of the British flag would have been flown in British West Florida and the Province of Georgia long before the Alabama Territory was established) and the battle flag of the Confederate States.

The crest of the coat represents a ship (the "Badine") which brought the French colonists who established the first permanent European settlements in the territory.

The bill to adopt a state coat of arms was introduced in the Alabama Legislature of 1939 by James Simpson, Jefferson County, and was passed without a dissenting vote by both houses.

Tieman, New York, an authority on heraldry, at the request of Marie Bankhead Owen, Director of the Department of Archives and History.

Crest: A full rigged ship proper.Besides being used by itself, the coat of arms is used on many governmental seals of the state, as well as the flag of the governor of Alabama.