Flags and arms of cantons of Switzerland abandoned the use of the term "half-canton" as an official designation, so that the official number of cantons became 26 - the former half-cantons being now referred to as "cantons with half a cantonal vote" officially, even though they are still commonly referred to as" half-cantons". With the exception of Lucerne, Schwyz and Ticino, the cantonal flags are simply transposed versions of the cantonal coats of arms. In case of Lucerne and Ticino, whose flags consist of fields of different colours divided per fess (horizontally), the coats of arms are of the same colours divided per pale (vertically). The coat
Flags and arms of cantons of Switzerland independence, Appenzell had a flag of a bear statant (on all fours) on a honeycombed field, attested from 1377. Appenzell split into its two half-cantons as a result of the Swiss Reformation, in 1597. The letters V and R in the Ausserrhoden flag stand for "Ussere Rhoden" "outer districts" (V representing /u/). The oldest representation of the letters is found on a flag, presumably of the 17th century and known to have been in use in 1743. On this flag, the bear is facing away from the hoist, with the letters V and R on the hoist side, behind the