The Great Seal of the United States was first used in 1782.
Congress approved the final design on June 20, 1782, after three committees had worked on proposals over several years. Secretary of the Continental Congress Charles Thomson assembled major elements of the design, while William Barton contributed heraldic details. The seal’s obverse features an eagle holding an olive branch and arrows, while its reverse includes the unfinished pyramid and Eye of Providence.
The first brass die was cut sometime between June and September 1782. Charles Thomson first used the seal on September 16 to authenticate a document authorizing George Washington to negotiate a prisoner exchange. The seal later became an official mark for federal diplomatic and other documents.
The year 1776 appears in Roman numerals at the pyramid’s base, which can cause confusion about the seal’s adoption date. That date refers to the Declaration of Independence, not the Great Seal’s creation. The motto E pluribus unum was also adopted for the seal in 1782.