In the coat of arms of Amsterdam, the field of the escutcheon (heraldic shield) is red. The field is charged with three vertically ordered silver or white Saint Andrew's Crosses on top of a black pale. The field and the pale result in three vertical bands in the colours red, black, and red.

Some people say the three saltires represent the three dangers of ancient Amsterdam: fire, floods, and the Black Death. That theory however has no historical basis. The crosses probably have their origin in the shield of the noble family Persijn. The knight Jan Persijn was 'lord' of Amstelledamme (Amsterdam) from 1280 to 1282.^[1]In the escutcheons of Dordrecht and Delft, two other cities in Holland, the pale refers to water. In analogy with this, the black pale in the escutcheon of Amsterdam would refer to the river Amstel. Both the colours and the crosses are also found in the escutcheons of two towns near Amsterdam: the village of Ouder-Amstel on the banks of the river Amstel to the southeast, and Nieuwer-Amstel (now the suburb Amstelveen) to the southwest. Both villages were also the property of the Persijn family.

The escutcheon forms the basis for the flag of Amsterdam, but the bands and crosses are positioned horizontally on the flag instead of vertically. The three Saint Andrew's Crosses are used in the logo of the city government^[2] and also as decorations on the typical Amsterdam bollards called Amsterdammertjes.