It consists of a red shield and a black pale with three silver Saint Andrew's Crosses, the Imperial Crown of Austria, two golden lions, and the motto of Amsterdam.

The field is charged with three vertically ordered silver or white Saint Andrew's Crosses on top of a black pale.

Both the colours and the crosses are also found in the escutcheons of two towns near Amsterdam: the village of Ouder-Amstel on the banks of the river Amstel to the southeast, and Nieuwer-Amstel (now the suburb Amstelveen) to the southwest.

The three Saint Andrew's Crosses are used in the logo of the city government[2] and also as decorations on the typical Amsterdam bollards called Amsterdammertjes.

In 1489, the emperor gave Amsterdam the right to use his personal imperial crown in its coat of arms, out of gratitude for these loans.

[3] Queen Wilhelmina wanted to remember the role of the citizens of Amsterdam during World War II and created a motto consisting of the Dutch words "Heldhaftig, Vastberaden, Barmhartig", meaning "Valiant, Steadfast, Compassionate".

The coat of arms of Amsterdam is occasionally depicted with the deities Neptune and Mercury of Roman mythology.

[4] In contrast, actually using the coat of arms to suggest any kind of official endorsement is restricted, more comparable to a trademark than a copyright.