http://mises.org/content/faq.aspx#Coat
The Mises Institute’s coat of arms is that of the Mises family, awarded in 1881 when Ludwig von Mises’s great-grandfather Mayer Rachmiel Mises was ennobled by the Emperor Franz Josef I of Austria . In the upper right-hand quadrant is the staff of Mercury, god of commerce and communication. As merchants, newspaper owners, and bankers, the Mises family was successful in both. The flower on the ribbon is the Rose of Sharon, a Jewish and Christian symbol of beauty and God’s favor. In the lower left-hand quadrant is a representation of the Ten Commandments. Mayer Rachmiel, as well as his father, presided over various Jewish cultural organizations in Lemberg, the city where Ludwig was born. Mises was forbidden from using the titles “von” and “Edler” (literally, “the noble”) after WWI in social democratic Austria , but in the US “von” once again became part of his name.