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US State Seals

State Seals

Find information and history of the official state seal of each of the states.

Ohio Symbols

Ohio State Seal

Great Seal of the State of Ohio

Adopted in 1967.

The current design of the Great Seal of the State of Ohio was officially adopted in 1967 and modified in 1996.

In the foreground, a sheaf of wheat represents Ohio's agricultural strength. A bundle of 17 arrows symbolizes Ohio's status as the 17th state admitted to the union. Thirteen rays around the sun represent the thirteen original colonies shining over the first state in the Northwest Territory. The background contains a portrayal of Mount Logan, with a three-quarter full sun rising behind it--symbolizing that Ohio was the first state west of the Allegheny Mountains. The Scioto River flows between the mountain and the cultivated fields in the foreground. Here is the section of the Ohio Revised Code describing the state seal.

State Seals

In days when communications were transcribed by hand and tediously undertaken, seals served to authenticate official government documents. In this day of computers and instant communications, seals still serve the same purpose.

great seal
noun

The principal seal of a government or state, with which official documents are are stamped as proof of having been approved or certified