  We present a kinematic diagnostic for peanut-shaped bulges in nearly face-on
galaxies. The face-on view provides a novel perspective on peanuts which would
allow study of their relation to bars and disks in greater detail than hitherto
possible. The diagnostic is based on the fact that peanut shapes are associated
with a flat density distribution in the vertical direction. We show that the
kinematic signature corresponding to such a distribution is a minimum in the
fourth-order Gauss-Hermite moment $s_4$. We demonstrate our method on $N$-body
simulations of varying peanut strength, showing that strong peanuts can be
recognized to inclinations $i \simeq 30\degrees$, regardless of the strength of
the bar. We also consider compound systems in which a bulge is present in the
initial conditions as may happen if bulges form at high redshift through
mergers. We show that in this case, because the vertical structure of the bulge
is not derived from that of the disk, that the signature of a peanut in $s_4$
is weakened. Thus the same kinematic signature of peanuts can be used to
explore bulge formation mechanisms. The observational requirements for
identifying peanuts with this method are challenging, but feasible.
