Coat of arms of Costa Rica

Actual Coat of Arms since May 5, 1998

The Coat of Arms of Costa Rica depicts an essential simplification of the nation. The two ships on either side represent the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean, both of which border Costa Rica. The ships also represent the maritime history of the country. The three mountains represent the three major mountain ranges of Costa Rica, and also stand to show the location of the country relative to the two bodies of sea. The current coat of arms has seven stars on it to stand for the seven provinces of Costa Rica. The above arms are older, and have five stars that represent the nations that had made up the United States of Central America in the early 19th century; the Costa Rican design is modified after the old Central American Federal coat of arms. The name of the nation is on a white banner at the top of the shield, above this is another blue scroll that says "Central America".