Joseph Bañales en California dice:

So far I have located two Bañales coat of arms. One from Aragon, and the other from Viscaya. If anyone out there knows of any other let us know.

I found the description to both these coat of arms in the " Diccionario Heraldico y Genealogico de Apellidos de Españoles y Americanos por Sr. Alverto y Arturo Garcia Carraffa, tome once, vpl 13, p 139 and 140 " in the Los Angeles City Library. However only the coat of arms from Aragon appears in this book.

I purchased the coat of arms from Viscaya in Madrid from Maria Teresa ( Antropologa ) Augusto Montañes Brabo Tel.: 467-0877, Fax: 541-3239. Does anyone out there know the official significance or date of registration of these coat of arms?

My wife, Lydia, and Florence from France had the same reaction when they first saw the coat of arms from Aragon.. The scallop shells reminded them of Santiago de Compastela, a religious pilgrimage site in Galecia, Spain with trails, leading to it, and crossing Viscaya, Navarra, and Aragon. Look it up in the Internet, It's interesting.

It's the third largest christian pilgrimage in the world, after the Vatican and the Holly Land - the scallop shell being the symbol for the pilgrimage.

Please send questions, answers or comments. Joseph Banales