This design was the winner in the 1999 contest for a design of a family coat of arms. Keep in mind, however, that it is not truly an "official" coat of arms, since they were traditionally granted by the monarch to a noble, generally for loyal service in war. However, there is nothing to preclude us from adopting our own coat of arms. 

This design includes something symbolic of the Old World as well as the New and to make the crest unique to the Mansker-Minsker Family. 

The Post Horn represented in the upper left portion of the shield comes from the old family legend that the original "Man from Mainz" was a bugler on the stagecoach from Mainz to Karlsruhe (see the Origins Page). The "keystone" in the lower right portion of the shield is the state symbol of Pennsylvania, where Ludwig Mäintzger arrived and settled. There are four of them, representing the four sons of Ludwig, two of whom were born in (and two of whom were possibly born in) Pennsylvania; in any case, they were all raised there before setting out to settle America and pass on their family names to the hundreds of descendants who carry them today. The two shades of blue represent the sky above and the sea below Ludwig’s passage to the New World, and the red bar represents the blood shed by our ancestors in the many wars in which our family fought. The helmet also represents the military service of the members of our family.