The Continental Congress adopted the Great Seal of the United States in 1782.
Congress accepted the final design on June 20, 1782, after six years of work by three committees and many contributors. The seal’s obverse features a bald eagle holding an olive branch and a bundle of arrows, symbolizing peace and war.
Its reverse shows an unfinished pyramid beneath the Eye of Providence. The pyramid has 13 levels representing the original states, while the Roman numerals MDCCLXXVI refer to 1776, the year independence was declared. The reverse also bears the Latin mottos Annuit Coeptis and Novus Ordo Seclorum.
The Great Seal was designed for official documents and diplomatic business, not as a general emblem for everyday use. Its imagery later became familiar to the public because the reverse appears on the back of the United States one-dollar bill.