In which hand does the Statue of Liberty hold her torch?

The Statue of Liberty holds her torch in her right hand.

Her raised right arm carries the torch high above her head, making it visible to ships entering New York Harbor. The torch symbolizes enlightenment, fitting the statue’s official French name, Liberty Enlightening the World. It is one of the clearest visual features of the monument and helps distinguish the figure’s two principal objects.

Her left arm is bent inward and supports a tablet. The inscription, JULY IV MDCCLXXVI, uses Roman numerals to record July 4, 1776—the date of the American Declaration of Independence. Because the statue faces outward toward the harbor, viewers sometimes confuse their own right and left with the statue’s right and left; the answer refers to the figure’s body.

The torch visible today is a replacement installed during the 1984–1986 restoration. The original torch, which had been part of the statue since 1886, is now displayed in the Statue of Liberty Museum. Public access to the torch balcony has been closed since 1916.