When the Munich town administration developed a constitution of its council, a seal was necessary for the purposes of asserting the authenticity of town-council documents. Appearing on a document of May 28, 1239, the oldest seal of Munich has a picture of a monk wearing an open hood. While all seal impressions show the monk with the book in one hand and three outstretched fingers in the other, the monk has varied slightly, appearing in profile, then later full-faced and bare-headed. The monk as a sole heraldic figure can be found on a seal dating from the year 1304, and on flags of the city since the middle of the 14th century. Colourful representations of the town's coat of arms stem from the 15th century.