While their sources for the Brusca Coat of Arms is valid, the designs produced by these companies is somewhat creative and flawed. An examination of the history of the Coat of Arms reveals the problems with these commercial outfits.

The Brusca Coat of Arms dates back to thirteenth century Spain. The Coat of Arms is recorded in the book, Enciclopedia Heraldica Y Geneologica Hispano Americana, by Alberto Garcia Carraffa. The book describes the Brusca Coat of Arms as "gold with a dark buffalo." Furthermore, a document known as La Carta Puehla de Albocacer [The Charter of Albocacer] indicates that "the Brusca coat of arms consists of a black buffalo, walking, on a gold shield."

An example of a flawed representation of the Brusca coat of arms comes from the Halberts Company of Bath, Ohio. They depicts the Brusca Coat of Arms as a gold shield with an American Bison (species hison bison), a species of buffalo found only in North America, a species unknown in thirteenth century Spain. Most likely, the Brusca Coat of Arms has a European, African or Asian Cape Buffalo on it, not an American Bison.

In January of 1988, I visited Dom Brusca of West Hempstead, Long Island, New York. He shed some light on the Brusca Cat of Arms issue. Despite the abundant documentation on the Brusca Coat of Arms, there has been a lack of credible drawings or photographs showing exactly what the Coat of Arms looks like. Dom directed me to a company that specializes in heraldic plaques, York Insignia, Ltd. (76 Micklegate, York YO? ILF, England Telephone 0904 625522 or 0904 659762). He purchased a Brusca family shield during the 1960's and it is almost identical to the Cape Buffalo version of the coat of arms shown below. I was very impressed with Dom's family crest and was certain that York Insignia was a reputable source for the coat of arms. I also sent away for a Brusca family plaque however I was very disappointed with what I received. The crest contained a gold field. The buffalo painted on my crest did not look anything like Dom's – in fact the buffalo looked more like a goat. York Insignia says that their family crests are composed using the written description only. They do not have any graphic references from which to work. If you order a family crest from York, be warned that it may not be an accurate representation of the family coat of arms.

When asked if there was any information on the Brusco coat of arms and whether it was similar to the Brusca design, Mrs. Snaith, the Managing Director of York Insignia, responded that the Brusco coat of arms may be a derivative of the Brusca shield however she could not say for sure without further research.

Despite many letters to Spain, we still do not have any information as to the current arms holder. It should be noted that in the world of heraldry there is but one legitimate arms holder. In a manner similar to succeeding monarchies, the coat of arms is handed down much like the crown in royalty: the eldest son in a family is first in line to hold the Coat of Arms.