The Great Seal of the United States – An Overview
Artwork by William Barton (May 1782) and Charles Thomson (June 1782)
These are the only preliminary drawings
of the final design for the Great Seal:
After they were drawn, a few revisions were made:
• A triangle was placed around the eye of providence.
• A date was inscribed on the base of the pyramid.
• Two mottoes were chosen for the pyramid side.
• The shield's stripes were changed to vertical.
But no new drawings were made.
And no artwork was submitted to Congress.
The official Great Seal of the United States adopted on June 20, 1782
is in the form of a written description only.
The first die of the Great Seal was created in Sept. 1782.
It had errors, as did subsequent dies. The U.S. government's most
accurate version of the Great Seal is the Centennial Medal of 1882:
Some of the finest examples of the eagle side are on the back of
the Indian Peace Medals given by President Washington in the 1790s.
See also the outstanding Diplomatic Medal of 1792.
Illustrations of a seal are called "realizations."
The first realizations and first color painting were done in 1786.
U.S. Department of State's current realizations:
The Great Seal's designers provided a brief explanation of its symbolism,
however the more we know about its design process and meaning
of its symbols and its mottoes, the better we can understand
why this emblem is as important today as ever before.
How the Great Seal got on the one-dollar bill in 1935.
What's so great about the Great Seal?
Main Sections of GreatSeal.com
©2010 GreatSeal.com
(includes resources for teachers)
Preliminary Designs suggested by three committees
Myth and Misinformation about the Great Seal
The Power of Peace and the Great Seal
Mottoes on the Seal's two sides
Symbolic elements of the Seal
Sightings of the Seal
Front page