> You probably have a "badge", which is a diminuitive/selected feature set of a "crest". Maybe things are different in German heraldry, but in English heraldry

> You probably have a "badge", which is a diminuitive/selected feature set of a "crest". Maybe things are different in German heraldry, but in English heraldry, a badge need bear no relation to the owner's coat of arms or crest -- for example, the Tudor Rose of Henry VII (arms: the fleurs-de-lys of France quartered with the lions of England; crest: a crowned lion in a standing pose), or the Stafford knot of the dukes of Buckingham (arms: a red chevron on a gold background). In England at least, the key difference between a coat of arms (with or without a crest) and a badge is that the former could only be properly worn/carried/displayed by its owner (and his heralds), while the latter could be worn by his followers as a sign of allegiance.