The Great Seal of the United States was first used in 1782.
Congress approved the final design on June 20, 1782, after three earlier committees had proposed elements for a national seal. Charles Thomson, secretary of the Continental Congress, assembled the final design, and artist William Barton made additional heraldic changes. The seal includes an eagle, a shield, an olive branch, arrows, a constellation of thirteen stars, and two Latin mottos.
The first brass die was made sometime between June and September 1782. The seal was first used on September 16, 1782, when Thomson authenticated signatures on a document authorizing George Washington to negotiate a prisoner exchange.
The pyramid and Eye of Providence appear on the reverse, which has never been cut into an official die. The Roman numerals MDCCLXXVI at the pyramid's base refer to 1776, the year of the Declaration of Independence. The seal is used to authenticate selected federal documents, while the design also appears on the one-dollar bill.