National Seal of USA

The Great Seal is a principal national symbol of the United States. The phrase is used both for the physical seal itself, which is kept by the United States Secretary of State and more generally for the design impressed upon it. The obverse of the Great Seal depicts the national coat of arms of the United States.

Today’s official versions from the Department of State are largely unchanged from the 1885 designs. The current rendering of the reverse was made by Teagle & Little of Norfolk, Virginia, in 1972. It is nearly identical to previous versions, which in turn were based on Lossing’s 1856 version.