Editing Great Seal of the United States (section)

== Obverse ==
{{See also|Armorial of the United States}}
{{Infobox coat of arms
 | name             = Coat of arms of the United States
 | image            = Coat of arms of the United States.svg
 | image_width      = 73
 | caption          = 
 | middle           = Greater coat of arms of the United States.svg
 | middle_width     = 270
 | middle_caption   = [[Achievement (heraldry)|Achievement]]
 | lesser           = Coat of arms of the United States (monochrome).svg
 | lesser_width     = 73
 | lesser_caption   = Monochrome ([[Hatching (heraldry)|hatched]]) reproduction
 | image2           = Greater coat of arms of the United States (monochrome).svg
 | image2_width     = 270
 | image2_caption   = Monochrome ([[Hatching (heraldry)|hatched]]) reproduction of the [[Achievement (heraldry)|achievement]]
 | armiger          = [[United States|United States of America]]
 | year_adopted     = 1782
 | crest            = A [[Glory (optical phenomenon)|glory]] [[or (heraldry)|Or]], breaking through a cloud [[Proper (heraldry)|proper]], surrounding an [[azure (heraldry)|azure]] field bearing a constellation of thirteen [[mullet (heraldry)|stars]] [[argent]]
 | torse            = 
 | shield           = ''officially:'' [[Pale (heraldry)|Paleways]] of 13 pieces, argent and [[gules]]; a [[Chief (heraldry)|chief]], azure<br />''heraldically:'' Argent, 6 pales gules, a chief azure
 | supporter        = A [[bald eagle]] proper [[attitude (heraldry)#Displayed|displayed]], bearing in its [[Dexter and sinister|dexter]] talon an [[olive branch]], in its sinister talon thirteen arrows, and in its beak a scroll bearing the motto
 | motto            = {{lang|la|[[E pluribus unum]]}}<br />([[Latin]] for 'Out of many, one')
 | orders           = 
 | other_elements   = 
 | earlier_versions = 
 | use              = On treaties, [[letters patent|commissions]], letterheads, license plates, embassies, agency seals and [[United States passport|passports]]
}}
The obverse (or front) of the seal depicts the full [[Achievement (heraldry)|achievement]] of the national coat of arms.
[[File:Usa gerb PNG2.png|thumb|A different version of the greater coat of arms found on the seal of the Executive Office of the President of the United States and the flag of the Secretary of State.]]
[[File:US passport high resolution.jpg|thumb|[[United States passport]]]]

===Blazon===
[[File:War in The Apotheosis of Washington.jpg|thumb|left|The arms as held by [[Columbia (personification)|Columbia]] in the war scene of the [[United States Capitol]]'s 1865 [[The Apotheosis of Washington|''Apotheosis of Washington'']]]]
The 1782 resolution of [[Congress of the Confederation|Congress]] adopting the arms, still in force, legally [[blazon]]ed the shield as:
{{quote|Paleways of 13 pieces, [[argent]] and [[gules]]; a [[Chief (heraldry)|chief]], [[Azure (heraldry)|azure]].}}

As the designers recognized,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/features/great-seal#:~:text=This%20description%20called%20a%20%E2%80%9Cblazon,and%20Thomson%20the%20reverse%20side. |title=The Great Seal of the United States {{!}} GovInfo |access-date=March 13, 2024 |archive-date=March 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240313065904/https://www.govinfo.gov/features/great-seal#:~:text=This%20description%20called%20a%20%E2%80%9Cblazon,and%20Thomson%20the%20reverse%20side. |url-status=live }}</ref> this is a technically incorrect blazon under traditional English heraldic rules, since in English practice a vertically striped shield would be described as "[[Pale (heraldry)|paly]]", not "paleways", and it would not have had an odd number of stripes. A more technically proper [[blazon]] would have been ''argent, six pallets gules ...'' (six red stripes on a white field), but the phrase used was chosen to preserve the reference to the 13 original states.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theheraldrysociety.com/members-arms/buchanan-boardman-charles-edward-sean/ |title=Members' Roll of Arms: Buchanan-Boardman, Charles Edward Sean |website=theheraldrysociety.com |date=April 3, 2018 |access-date=May 3, 2021 |archive-date=August 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817200821/https://www.theheraldrysociety.com/members-arms/buchanan-boardman-charles-edward-sean/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Escutcheon (heraldry)|escutcheon]] (shield) bears resemblance to the [[flag of the United States|United States flag]], with two exceptions in particular:
* The blue [[chief (heraldry)|chief]] contains no stars (although certain derivative arms do, e.g. the chief of the [[Seal of the United States Senate|arms of the United States Senate]]).
* The outermost stripes are [[white]], not red, to avoid violation of the [[rule of tincture]], as the chief is blue.

The [[supporter]] of the shield is a [[bald eagle]] with its wings outstretched (or "[[attitude (heraldry)#Displayed|displayed]]", in [[heraldry|heraldic]] terms). From the eagle's perspective, it holds a bundle of 13 [[arrow]]s in its left [[Claw|talon]], and an [[olive branch]] in its right talon. Although not specified by law, the olive branch is usually depicted with 13 leaves and 13 olives. In its beak, the eagle clutches a scroll with the motto ''[[E pluribus unum]]'' ("Out of Many, One"). Over its head there appears a [[Glory (optical phenomenon)|glory]] with 13 [[star (heraldry)|mullets]] (stars) on a blue field.

===Stated symbolism===
The recurring number 13 refers to the [[Thirteen Colonies|13 original states]]. The arrows and [[olive branch]] together symbolize that the United States has "a strong desire for peace, but will always be ready for war." (see [[Olive Branch Petition]]). E Pluribus Unum contains 13 letters.

The [[eagle]] has its head turned towards the olive branch, on its right side, to symbolize a preference for peace.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.snopes.com/history/american/turnhead.asp |title = A Turn of the Head |date = November 5, 2001 |publisher = snopes.com }}</ref>

The primary official explanation of the symbolism of the great seal was given by [[Charles Thomson]] upon presenting the final design for adoption by Congress. He wrote:

{{quote|The Escutcheon is composed of the chief & pale, the two most honorable ordinaries. The Pieces, paly, represent the several states all joined in one solid compact entire, supporting a Chief, which unites the whole & represents Congress. The Motto alludes to this union. The pales in the arms are kept closely united by the chief and the Chief depends upon that union & the strength resulting from it for its support, to denote the Confederacy of the United States of America & the preservation of their union through Congress.

The colours of the pales are those used in the flag of the United States of America; White signifies purity and innocence, Red, hardiness & valor, and Blue, the colour of the Chief signifies vigilance, perseverance & justice. The Olive branch and arrows denote the power of peace & war which is exclusively vested in Congress. The Constellation denotes a new State taking its place and rank among other sovereign powers. The Escutcheon is born on the breast of an American Eagle without any other supporters to denote that the United States of America ought to rely on their own Virtue.<ref name="greatseal.com">As quoted by {{cite web |url = http://www.greatseal.com/symbols/explanation.html |title = Explanation of the Great Seal's Symbolism |publisher = greatseal.com |first = John D. |last = MacArthur }}</ref>}}

Thomson took the symbolism for the colors from ''Elements of Heraldry'', by Antoine Pyron du Martre, which [[William Barton (heraldist)|William Barton]] had lent him.<ref name="archive.org">{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/stream/TheEagleAndTheShield/The%20Eagle%20and%20the%20Shield#page/n123/mode/2up|title=The Eagle and the Shield: A History of the Great Seal of the United States|last1=Patterson|first1=Richard Sharpe|last2=Dougall|first2=Richardson|publisher= Washington : Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, Dept. of State : for sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. Govt. Print. Off.|date=1978|orig-year=1976 i.e. 1978|series=Department and Foreign Service series; 161 Department of State publication; 8900|lccn=78602518|oclc=4268298|pages=80–81}}</ref> That book said that argent (white) "signifies Purity, Innocence, Beauty, and Genteelness", gules (red) "denotes martial Prowess, Boldness, and Hardiness", and azure (blue) "signifies Justice, Perseverance, and Vigilance".<ref name="The Elements of Heraldry">Pyron du Martre, Antoine (Pen name: Mark Anthony Porny) (1771). [https://archive.org/stream/elementsofherald00pyro#page/n261/mode/2up ''The Elements of Heraldry'']. T. Carnan and F. Newbery, Jr. ''Glossary entry: Argent''</ref><ref name="Martre, Antoine 1771">Pyron du Martre, Antoine (Pen name: Mark Anthony Porny) (1771). [https://archive.org/stream/elementsofherald00pyro#page/n279/mode/2up ''The Elements of Heraldry'']. T. Carnan and F. Newbery, Jr. ''Glossary entry: Gules''</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">Pyron du Martre, Antoine (Pen name: Mark Anthony Porny) (1771). [https://archive.org/stream/elementsofherald00pyro#page/n261/mode/2up ''The Elements of Heraldry'']. T. Carnan and F. Newbery, Jr. ''Glossary entry: Azure''</ref>

A brief and official explanation of the symbolism was prepared in the form of a historical sketch, or pamphlet, of the seal of the United States, entitled, ''The Seal of the United States: How it was Developed and Adopted''. It was written by [[Gaillard Hunt]] in 1892 under the direction of then Secretary of State [[James G. Blaine]].<ref name=":4">{{cite web |last = Hunt |first = Gaillard |title = The History of the Seal of the United States |year = 1909 |location = Washington, D.C.: Department of State, 1909 1st Ed. Page 5. |url = https://archive.org/details/historyofsealofu00unit }}</ref><ref name="The Washington Herald">{{cite news |work = The Washington Herald |date = March 2, 1913 |title = Uncle Sam Has Seal Maker in the Library of Congress |via = ''Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers'', Library of Congress |url = http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045433/1913-03-02/ed-1/seq-29 |department = Magazine |page = 3 |access-date = July 9, 2013 |archive-date = November 15, 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131115201501/http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045433/1913-03-02/ed-1/seq-29/ |url-status = live }}</ref> When the copyright on the pamphlet expired, Hunt expounded upon the information in more detail.<ref name=":4" /> This was published in 1909 in a book titled'' The History of the Seal of the United States.''<ref name=":4" /> This work was largely based on a two-volume work written in 1897 by [[C. A. L. Totten|Charles A. L. Totten]] titled ''Our Inheritance in the Great Seal of Manasseh, the United States of America: Its History and Heraldry; and Its Signification unto the 'Great People' thus Sealed.''<ref name=":4" /> Hunt's account greatly details how the seal was chosen, containing sketches of other suggestions for a great seal which were made, such as Franklin's suggested motto "Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to [[God]]", information on the illegal seal, iterations and changes that have been made to the seal, and it also includes detailed descriptions of the symbology of the great seal (such as that provided by Charles Thomson).<ref name=":4" />

===Depictions===
The colors (''[[Tincture (heraldry)|tinctures]]'') of the coat of arms are either reproduced directly, or represented monochromatically by means of [[Hatching (heraldry)|heraldic hatching]]. The latter applies when the seal is affixed to paper.

====Official die designs====
In the Department of State, the term "Great Seal" refers to a physical mechanism which is used by the department to affix the seal to official government documents. This mechanism includes not only the die (metal engraved with a raised inverse image of the seal), but also the counterdie (also known as a [[Seal (emblem)#Seal design|counter-seal]]), the press, and cabinet in which it is housed.<ref name="statepub"/> There have been several presses used since the seal was introduced, but none of the mechanisms used from 1782 through 1904 have survived. The seal and its press were saved when [[Burning of Washington|Washington, D.C. was burned]] in 1814, though no one knows who rescued the pieces.<ref name="state225press">{{cite web |url = http://diplomacy.state.gov/exhibitions/101354.htm |title = Keeping the Seal in Good Hands |publisher = U.S. Diplomacy Center |access-date = February 3, 2009 |archive-date = February 4, 2009 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090204221613/http://diplomacy.state.gov/exhibitions/101354.htm |url-status = live }}</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/stream/TheEagleAndTheShield/The%20Eagle%20and%20the%20Shield#page/n207/mode/2up ''The Eagle and the Shield'', pp. 164–165]</ref>
<gallery>
File:GreatSealPress.jpg|The press and cabinet, made in 1903
File:Great Seal press 1955.jpg|[[Clydia Mae Richardson]], who led the effort to put the seal on display, and [[John Foster Dulles]] imprint a document during the 1955 ceremony
</gallery>
The press in use today was made in 1903 by R. Hoe & Co's chief cabinetmaker Frederick S. Betchley in conjunction with the 1904 die, with the cabinet being made of mahogany. It is marked with the contracted completion date of June 15, 1903, but delays and reworking pushed final delivery into early 1904. From 1945 to 1955, the Great Seal changed quarters almost once a year. In 1955, the seal was put on public display for the first time in a central location in the department's main building.<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/TheEagleAndTheShield/The%20Eagle%20and%20the%20Shield#page/n365/mode/2up ''The Eagle and the Shield'', p. 322]</ref> In 1961 the Seal became the focus of the new Department Exhibit Hall, where it resides today in a glass enclosure. The enclosure remains locked at all times, even during the sealing of a document.<ref name="statepub"/><ref name="state225press"/><ref>{{cite web |url = https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/rls/dos/9087.htm |title = Great Seal Fact Sheet |access-date = February 3, 2009 |archive-date = January 21, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170121033259/https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/rls/dos/9087.htm |url-status = live }}</ref>

The seal can only be affixed by an officer of the Department of State, under the authority of the secretary of state. To seal a document, first a blank paper wafer is glued onto its front in a space provided for it. The document is then placed between the die and counterdie, with the wafer lined up between them. Holding the document with one hand, the weighted arm of the press is pulled with the other, driving the die down onto the wafer, impressing the seal in relief. When envelopes containing letters need to be sealed, the wafer is imprinted first and then glued to the sealed envelope. It is used approximately 2,000 to 3,000 times a year.<ref name="statepub"/>

Documents which require the seal include treaty ratifications, international agreements, appointments of ambassadors and civil officers, and communications from the President to heads of foreign governments. The seal was once required on presidential [[proclamation]]s, and on some now-obsolete documents such as [[exequatur]]s and [[Mediterranean pass]]ports.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://diplomacy.state.gov/exhibitions/101355.htm |title = Redefining the Seal's Use |access-date = February 4, 2009 |archive-date = February 19, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120219111149/http://diplomacy.state.gov/exhibitions/101355.htm |url-status = live }} and {{cite web |url = http://diplomacy.state.gov/exhibitions/101356.htm |title = Using the Seal as the Nation Expands |publisher = U.S. Diplomacy Center |access-date = February 3, 2009 |archive-date = February 4, 2009 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090204221304/http://diplomacy.state.gov/exhibitions/101356.htm |url-status = live }}</ref>
<gallery>
File:GreatSealWafer.jpg|A seal wafer
File:GreatSealCounterdie.jpg|The wafer is positioned over the counterdie.
File:GreatSealPressImprinting.jpg|The seal is pressed down on the wafer.
File:GreatSealWaferImprinted.jpg|The imprinted seal
</gallery>

The metallic die of the obverse side of the Great Seal is what actually [[Embossing (paper)|embosses]] the design onto documents. These dies eventually wear down, requiring replacements to be made. The current die is the seventh engraving of the seal, and the actual design on the dies has evolved over time.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Successive die designs
! Die !! Impression !! Created !! Description
|-
| [[File:GreatSealFirstDie.jpg|200px|1782 die]]
| [[File:US Great Seal 1782 drawing.png|200px|Drawing of die design]]<br/>[[File:Great Seal of the United States of America (1782).svg|200px|Coloring of die design]]
| 1782
| The first die was made of brass, and measured {{frac|2|1|16}}&nbsp;inches (5.2&nbsp;cm) in diameter while being one half inch (13&nbsp;mm) thick.<ref name="statepub"/> It was cut sometime between June and September 1782 (i.e. between the design being accepted and its first use), although the exact date is not known.<ref name="totten">{{cite book |last = Totten |first = C.A.L. |author-link = C. A. L. Totten |title = The Seal of History |url = https://archive.org/details/sealhistoryouri00tottgoog |year = 1897 |publisher = The Our Race Publishing Co. |location = New Haven, Connecticut }}</ref> The identity of the engraver is also not known; it may have been [[Robert Scot]] but Thomson may also have found a private engraver on his own.<ref name="statepub"/>

The first die depicts a relatively crude crested eagle, thin-legged and somewhat awkward. There is no fruit on the olive branch, and the engraver added a border of [[acanthus (genus)|acanthus]] leaves.<ref name="statepub"/> Depicting an eagle with a [[Crest (feathers)|crest]] is typical in heraldry, but is at odds with the official blazon of the seal which specifies a bald eagle (which have no crests). The blazon does not specify the arrangement of the stars (which were randomly placed in Thomson's sketch) nor the number of points; the engraver chose six-pointed stars (typical of American heraldry), and arranged them in a larger six-pointed star.<ref name="ahart">{{cite web |url = http://americanheraldry.org/pages/index.php?n=Official.USEmb |title = The Arms of the USA: Artistic Expressions |last = McMillan |first = Joseph |publisher = americanheraldry.org |access-date = February 3, 2009 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090624214928/http://americanheraldry.org/pages/index.php?n=Official.USEmb |archive-date = June 24, 2009 |df = mdy-all }}</ref> No drawing made by the engraver has ever been found, and it is not known if Thomson provided any.<ref name="statepub"/>

This first die was used until 1841, and is now on display in the [[National Archives and Records Administration|National Archives]] in Washington, D.C.<ref name="statepub"/>

There was no die made of the reverse side of the seal (and in fact, one has never been made). The intended use was for pendant seals, which are discs of wax attached to the document by a cord or ribbon, and thus have two sides. However, the United States did not use pendant seals at the time, and there was no need for a die of the reverse.<ref name="statepub"/>

In an essay published in ''Harper's'' from 1856 Bernard Lossing alluded to a version half the size for the purpose of impressing wax and paper.<ref>{{cite magazine |last = Lossing |first = Benson J. |author-link = Benson John Lossing |title = Great Seal of the United States |magazine = [[Harper's Magazine|Harper's New Monthly Magazine]] |volume = 13 |issue = 74 |pages = 184–5 |date = July 1856 |hdl = 2027/uc1.c065162776?urlappend=%3Bseq=200 |url = https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.c065162776?urlappend=%3Bseq=200|quote=Congress then ordered a seal half the size of the great one, to impress wax and paper, as you now see it upon this commission signed by my old and trusty friend, Charles Thomson.}}</ref> More recent research has not been able to verify this claim, with no record of this seal being found (although the second seal committee of 1780 had recommended a half-size seal).<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/TheEagleAndTheShield/The%20Eagle%20and%20the%20Shield#page/n609/mode/2up ''The Eagle and the Shield'', p. 564] See footnote 29. "No evidence has been found to substantiate this statement either, although the report of the second seal committee in 1780 (which was not adopted) recommended a half-size seal."</ref>
|-
| [[File:MasiTreatySealSkippet.jpg|200px]]
| [[File:MasiTreatySeal.jpg|200px]]
| 1825
| Starting with the ratification of the [[Treaty of Ghent]], the United States began to use pendant seals on treaties, where the seal is impressed onto a separate wax disc and attached to the document with cords. Although the reverse side of the seal was designed for this purpose, a die was still not made but rather the obverse was impressed on one side only using the regular die. However, this did not conform to the European tradition of using much larger seals for treaties. To address this, [[Seraphim Masi]] of Washington D.C., was asked to design a larger seal specifically for treaties.<ref name="statepub"/> Masi produced a quite different design, showing a much more realistic (and uncrested) eagle, turned somewhat to the side. He also added fruits to the olive branch, changed the shape of the shield, and depicted the crest differently. It was {{frac|4|11|16}}&nbsp;inches (11.9&nbsp;cm) in diameter.<ref name="statepub"/>

These seals were transported in metallic boxes called skippets, which protected the actual wax seal from damage. The skippets themselves also were engraved with the seal design. Several skippets were made at a time, which the State Department used as needed. Usually skippets were made out of [[sterling silver]], though for the Japanese [[Convention of Kanagawa|treaty]] following [[Matthew C. Perry|Commodore Perry]]'s mission a golden box was used (the ratification of that treaty, made later in 1854, had an even more elaborate and expensive seal and heavy gold skippet).<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/TheEagleAndTheShield/The%20Eagle%20and%20the%20Shield#page/n233/mode/2up ''The Eagle and the Shield'', p. 189]</ref><ref name="totten"/>

The Masi treaty die was used until 1871, almost exclusively for treaties, at which point the U.S. government discontinued the use of pendant seals. The die is also currently on display at the National Archives.<ref name="statepub"/> Masi's company made most of the skippets for almost twenty years, after which the State Department switched to nearly identical versions made by [[Samuel Lewis (silversmith)|Samuel Lewis]]. At least one 1871 treaty seal was actually made using a Lewis skippet mold instead of the Masi die, meaning it too is technically an official die.<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/TheEagleAndTheShield/The%20Eagle%20and%20the%20Shield#page/n261/mode/2up ''The Eagle and the Shield'', pp. 217–218]</ref>
|-
| [[File:1841USGreatSealDie.jpg|200px]]
| [[File:1841USGreatSealDieImpression.jpg|200px]]
| 1841
| Over time, the original seal became worn and needed to be replaced. John Peter Van Ness Throop of Washington D.C. engraved a new die in 1841, which is also sometimes known as the "illegal seal" because only six arrows are shown rather than the required thirteen. Throop also chose to use five-pointed stars, though kept the six-pointed star arrangement, a change which has continued in all subsequent dies. Other changes include a more vigorous and uncrested eagle, the removal of the acanthus leaves, a general crowding of the design upward, a different shape to the shield, and fruit on the olive branch (four olives).<ref name="statepub"/>

The seal was {{frac|2|1|8}}&nbsp;inches (5.4&nbsp;cm) in diameter. In 1866, the first counter die was made, which is the same design in opposite relief. The paper was placed between the die and counter die, resulting in a sharper impression in the paper than from one die alone. The use of counterdies continues to this day.<ref name="statepub"/>
|-
| —
| [[File:1877USGreatSealDieImpression.jpg|200px]]
| 1877
| The [[United States Centennial]] in 1876 had renewed interest in national symbols, and articles appeared noting the irregularities in the 1841 seal.<ref name="statepub"/> However, when it came time to replace the worn 1841 die, the Department of State kept the same design.

The new die was engraved by Herman Baumgarten of Washington, D.C. His version followed the 1841 die very closely, including the errors, and was the same size. The most notable differences were slightly larger stars and lettering. The workmanship on the die was relatively poor, with no impression being very clear, and it is considered the poorest of all Great Seal die.<ref name="statepub"/><ref name="eagle_shield_229">[https://archive.org/stream/TheEagleAndTheShield/The%20Eagle%20and%20the%20Shield#page/n273/mode/2up ''The Eagle and the Shield'', p. 229]</ref><ref name="totten"/> It was the one in use during the seal's centennial in 1882.<ref name="eagle_shield_229"/>
|-
| [[File:1885 US Great Seal die.jpg|200px|1885 die]]
| [[File:1885 US Great Seal die impression.jpg|200px|Lithograph of 1885 design]]
| 1885
| By early 1881 the State Department started responding to criticism of the seal,<ref name="statepub"/> resulting first in an 1882 centennial commemorative medal, and then with [[Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen|Secretary of State Frederick Frelinghuysen]] asking for funds to create a new design and dies of both the obverse and reverse on January 11, 1884, after getting estimates of the cost. Congress eventually appropriated $1,000 for those purposes on July 7, 1884.<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/TheEagleAndTheShield/The%20Eagle%20and%20the%20Shield#page/n289/mode/2up ''The Eagle and the Shield'', pp. 246–247]</ref><ref name="hunt1909"/> The design contract went to [[Tiffany & Co.]]<ref name="statepub"/>

Theodore F. Dwight, Chief of the Bureau of Rolls and Library of the Department of State, supervised the process. He brought in several consultants to consider design from historical, heraldic, and artistic points of view. These included [[Justin Winsor]], a historical scholar, [[Charles Eliot Norton]], a [[Harvard University|Harvard]] professor, William H. Whitmore, author of ''Elements of Heraldry'', John Denison Chaplin, Jr., an expert on engraving and associate editor of ''American Cyclopædia'', the sculptor [[Augustus Saint-Gaudens]], the Unitarian minister [[Edward Everett Hale]], and even the botanist [[Asa Gray]] to help with the olive branch.<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/TheEagleAndTheShield/The%20Eagle%20and%20the%20Shield#page/n279/mode/2up ''The Eagle and the Shield'', pp. 236–268]</ref><ref name="hunt1909"/><ref name="ahart"/> Tiffany's chief designer, James Horton Whitehouse, was the artist responsible for the actual design.<ref name="statepub"/>

On December 13, 1884, following much research and discussion among the group, Whitehouse submitted his designs. The result was a much more formal and heraldic look, completely different from previous dies, and has remained essentially unchanged since. The eagle is a great deal more robust and clutches the olive branch and arrows from behind. The 13 arrows were restored, in accordance with the original law, and the olive branch was depicted with 13 leaves and 13 olives. The clouds surrounding the constellation were made a complete circle for the first time.<ref name="statepub"/> The resulting die was made of steel, was {{convert|3|in|mm}} wide, and weighed one pound six ounces.<ref name="totten"/>

In a letter accompanying their designs, Tiffany gave their reasonings behind various elements. The eagle was made as realistic as the rules of heraldry would permit, and the scroll style was chosen to least interfere with the eagle. There were no stars in the [[chief (heraldry)|chief]] (the area at the top of the shield), as is sometimes seen, as there are none specified in the blazon and thus including them would violate the rules of heraldry. Some had suggested allowing the rays of the sun to extend through the clouds, as appears to be specified in the original law and sometimes seen in other versions, but Whitehouse rejected that idea and kept with the traditional die representation. He also considered adding flowers to the olive branch, but decided against it, as "the unspecified number of flowers would be assumed to mean something when it would not".<ref name="hunt1909"/>

Tiffany also submitted a design for the reverse of the seal, but even though Congress had ordered one a die was not created. The members of the consulting group were somewhat disparaging of the design of even the obverse, but especially critical of the reverse, and suggested not making it at all. Dwight eventually agreed and did not order the die, though he said it was "not improper" that one eventually be made.<ref name="hunt1909"/> To this day, there has never been an official die made of the reverse.
|-
| [[File:1904 US Great Seal die.jpg|200px|1904 die]]
| [[File:1904 US Great Seal die impression.jpg|200px|1904 die design]]
| 1904
| After only 17 years, the seal was no longer making a good impression (probably due to a worn counter die).<ref name="statepub"/> On July 1, 1902, Congress passed an act to appropriate $1250 to have the seal recut. There was some discussion among State Department officials about whether to redo the design again, but given the thought that had gone into the 1885 version, it was decided to recreate that design. Congress renewed the law on March 3, 1903, since no action had yet been taken, and this time specified that it be recut from the existing model, which ended any further discussion.<ref name="hunt1909"/>

The die was engraved by Max Zeitler of the Philadelphia firm of Baily Banks & Biddle in 1903 (and is thus sometimes called the 1903 die), but final delivery was delayed until January 1904 due to issues with the press. There were slight differences; the impressions were sharper, the feathers more pointed, and the talons have shorter joints. Also, two small heraldic errors which had persisted on all previous seal dies were fixed:<ref name="statepub"/> the rays of the glory were drawn with dots to [[hatching system|indicate the tincture]] gold, and the background of the stars was drawn with horizontal lines to indicate azure.<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/TheEagleAndTheShield/The%20Eagle%20and%20the%20Shield#page/n351/mode/2up ''The Eagle and the Shield'', p. 308]</ref>

The die was first used on January 26, 1904, and was used for 26 years. All dies made since have followed exactly the same design, and in 1986 the [[Bureau of Engraving and Printing]] made a master die from which all future dies will be made.<ref name="statepub"/> The current die is the seventh and was made in 1986.<ref name="gsdies">{{cite web |url = http://www.greatseal.com/committees/dies.html |title = Official Dies of the Great Seal of the United States |publisher = greatseal.com |first = John D. |last = MacArthur |access-date = February 3, 2009 }}{{Dead link|date=March 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
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====Other====
{{Main|Notable depictions of the Great Seal of the United States}}