This Swiss-shaped shield consisted of an open-winged condor on a blue background holding a grenade in one leg and a sword in the other side was devised by Antonio Nariño.

The new emblem consisted of two cornucopia full of flowers and fruits, symbols of abundance and wealth, which surrounded a bundle of spears and arrows (fasces), like an ax, tied by a tricolor ribbon at the bottom, as a sign of strength and union.

Some variants, especially those that went inside the flags, showed the shield surrounded by an oval or a circle with the inscription 'Republic of Colombia', with a small star at the bottom.

Three silver stars appeared in the upper barracks, representing the initial departments that made up three Republics (Venezuela, Cundinamarca and Quito).

In the upper part of the coat of arms there was an eagle (or condor) with open wings and in its lower part the motto inscribed 'Ser Libre o Morir' (Be Free or Die) Surrounding the shield were, on the left, an old man armed with a mace on an amphora with the phrase Orinoco, while on the right a nymph held an olive branch that was stepping on an amphora with the phrase Magdalena.