The Great Seal of the United States, created by Charles Thomson and modified by William Barton, was approved by the Continental Congress on June 20, 1782. The front features a bald eagle with a scroll in its beak with the Latin motto made of thirteen letters, E Pluribus Unum (Out of one, many). The eagle holds an olive branch with thirteen leaves and thirteen olives in one claw, which is a symbol of peace. In its other claw it holds thirteen arrows, which are a symbol of war. There are thirteen stars above the eagle's head, and there is a shield with thirteen stripes in front of the eagle.
The reverse of the seal features a thirteen-step pyramid with 1776 on its base. The Eye of Providence, a symbol used to represent divine protection, sits on the top of the pyramid. Above the eye is the Latin motto Annuit Coeptis (It [the Eye of Providence] is favorable to our undertakings). Beneath the pyramid is another Latin phrase, Novus Ordo Seclorum (New Order of the Ages).
The front of the seal is used on official federal documents and in official federal decoration. The back is never used as a seal. Both the front and the back of the seal are on the one-dollar bill.
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