March 8, 2022

TOP 10 Skull Symbols

In the past centuries, when the Jolly Roger was raised, it usually heralded terror and often death. In fact, the term "Jolly Roger" probably comes from the French words "Joli Rouge", a French term that refers to the bloody red banners carried by the early privateers. But long after the golden age of pirates, we see this symbol appearing all around us, without necessarily knowing the real meaning of these skulls. So we have prepared a little summary for you so that you can better understand the symbolism of skull.

Let's take a look together at the TOP 10 most unique skull symbols found on pirate flags. 🏴☠️

Symbol N°10 : Skull & Crossbones (Pirate flag)

Edward England, was a famous Irish pirate of the 18th century. He sailed the African and Indian Ocean coasts from 1717 to 1720, and the pirate ships he sailed on included the Pearl and later the Fancy, which was exchanged in 1720 by England for the Pearl. He is known for his famous flag which was the classic Jolly Roger: a skull and crossbones on a black background. By the way, if you want to know more about this flag, we invite you to discover the origins of the Jolly Roger. This is the most common form of the famous pirate flag and the one that has been used most often throughout history. That's why we felt compelled to include it in this ranking. 😅

Symbol N°9 : Poison Danger Pictogram (Death's Head Logo)

The human skull and crossbones have traditionally been used to label toxic ⚠️ products that can be found in the home. In the United States, there was concern that this symbol would actually attract children because of its association with pirates, so a new symbol was created (called Mr. Yuk). Mr. Yuk is now found more often than the traditional poison symbol. Since it is unlikely that non-Americans will recognize Mr. Yuk, it was decided to present it instead of the standard poison symbol that we are all so familiar with.

Symbol N°8: Skull and Crossbones Military Badge (Peacekeeper)

Symbol #8: Skull and Crossbones Military Badge (Peacekeeper)

The LGM-118A Peacekeeper, also known as the MX (for Missile-eXperimental) missile, was a land-based missile 💥 deployed by the United States in the beginning of 1986. This missile was to be used as a defense against Soviet nuclear missiles that were superior to those used by the United States at the time. The uniform worn by the Army crews who manned the missiles and bases featured the famous ☠️ skull and crossbones with weapon fins instead of bones. Under the START II treaty, which never went into effect, the missiles were to be removed from the U.S. nuclear arsenal in 2005, leaving the LGM-30 Minuteman as the only land-based missile type in the U.S. arsenal. Despite the demise of the START II treaty, the last of the "Peacekeepers" (but not their warheads) were decommissioned on 19 September 2005.

Symbol N°7: Rock & Skull (Iron Maiden)

The cover of the 2006 album "A Matter Of Life And Death" 🎵, designed by famed comic book cover artist Tim Bradstreet, features a zombie head wearing a helmet and placed above two crossed M16 machine guns. It has since been used on many of the band's T-shirts and posters.

Symbol N°6 : Phi Kappa Sigma (the Skull Movement)

Phi Kappa Sigma is an all-male worldwide social and academic movement founded in the United States in the late 19th century. Its members are known as "Phi Kaps", "Skull" and sometimes "Skullhouse" (literally: the "Death's Head House"). The latter two names are due to the skull and crossbones 💀 that appear on the insignia and coat of arms of this fraternity. In the 1850s, the Southern divisions inaugurated the custom of wearing silver skulls on their insignia, and thus became known as the "Silver Skulls."

Symbol N°5 : One Piece flag

In the popular anime and manga Shonen Jump, which takes a rather friendly approach to pirates, the main character, Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat crew sport a Jolly Roger. Granted, it's not exactly menacing, but it's still a classic Jolly Roger with the character's signature Straw Hat insignia. 👒

Symbole N°4 : Skull and Bones

The Skull and Bones Society, a society at Yale University, was originally known as the Brotherhood of Death. It is one of the oldest student secret societies in the United States. It was founded in 1832, and membership is open to an elite group. The society uses rituals inspired by Freemasonry 👁 to this day. Members meet every Thursday and Sunday of each week in a building they call the "Tomb." ✝️ Don't wait and join the elite by getting the Skull & Bones Ring.

Symbol N°3: Skull Flag (Victory of the Submarines)

After the introduction of submarines into several branches of the U.S. Navy, British Admiral Sir Arthur Wilson, Comptroller of the Royal Navy, declared that these submarines were "devious, evil and anti-British. He even added that he would convince the British Army to hang (like pirates) all the crew of captured enemy submarines in wartime. In September 1914, the British submarine HMS E9 successfully torpedoed the German cruiser SMS Hela. Remembering Wilson's statements, Commander Max Horton asked his sailors to make a Jolly Roger flag, 🏴☠️ which was flown by the submarine as it entered port. Since then, it has become a fairly common practice among British submarines. 🇬🇧

Symbol N°2: Prevention logo (the "Home" Registration)

This logo is well known to most people who have visited The Pirate Bay. "Home Taping is Killing Music" was the slogan of a campaign to eradicate copyright infringement ❌ conducted in the 1980s by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), a British music industry trade group. With the rise in popularity of cassette recorders, 📼 the BPI feared that being able to record music from the radio onto cassettes would lead to a decline in record sales. The logo, consisting of a Jolly Roger formed from a skull and crossbones cassette, also featured the words "And It's Illegal."

Symbol N°1 : Skull Badge SS-Totenkopfverbände

The SS-Totenkopfverbände (SS-TV), which means "Death's Head Units," was the SS organization responsible for administering the Nazi concentration camps for the Third Reich. The SS-TV was an independent unit within the SS, with its own ranks and command structure. It ran camps throughout Germany, 🇩🇪 such as Dachau and Buchenwald.

Throughout Nazi-occupied Europe, it ran Auschwitz in Poland 🇵🇱 and Mauthausen in Austria, 🇦🇹 as well as many other concentration and extermination camps. The primary function of the extermination camps was genocide and included the camps of Treblinka, Belzec, and Sobibor. They were responsible for facilitating the Final Solution, since known as the Holocaust, in collaboration with the Reich Security Main Office and the SS Economic and Administrative Main Office.