Editing Flag and seal of Virginia (section)

==Seal history==
In May 1776 the [[Colony of Virginia|Virginian colony]] declared its independence from [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]]. On July 1, 1776, a committee of four was appointed to make a proper [[Seal (emblem)|seal]] for the Commonwealth of Virginia. The four men were [[Richard Henry Lee]], [[George Mason]], [[George Wythe]], and [[Robert Carter Nicholas Sr.]] Four days later, the committee's report for a design of the seal was read, and Mason presented it to the [[Virginia government]]. It was voted on and approved that same day. It is not known for certain which members of the committee were chiefly responsible for the design of the seal, but it is generally believed to be principally the work of Wythe.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Emblems of the Commonwealth of Virginia |url=https://capclass.virginiageneralassembly.gov/Emblems/index.html#:~:text=The%20Seal%20of%20the%20Commonwealth,more%20goddesses%20and%20the%20word |access-date=2025-03-26 |website=capclass.virginiageneralassembly.gov}}</ref>

The seal makers did not want a design which in any way resembled the style of [[coats-of-arms|coats of arms]] used in Great Britain. Because of the admiration for the [[Roman Republic]] felt by the Virginian leaders, the design of the new seal was two-sided and was taken from the mythology of [[Ancient Rome]].

By 1912, many variants of the seal had become propagated, leading to confusion as to which was the actual seal. Thus, Virginia decided to standardize the design of the seal in order to avoid confusion.<ref name="auto"/>

{{Gallery|align=center|height=150
|Seal of Virginia (1714).png|1714 seal
|Great Seal of Virginia - George III.png|George III-era seal obverse and reverse
|Virginia state coat of arms (illustrated, 1876).jpg|Virginia state [[Historical coats of arms of the U.S. states|historical coat of arms]] (illustrated, 1876)

}}

===Historical depictions of the seal===
{{Gallery|align=center|height=120
|Seal of Virginia "Sic semper tyrannis" art detail, from Virginia (NYPL b14547333-420329) (cropped).tif|Seal of Virginia, 1850 to 1890
|Seal of Virginia (1851).png|1851 seal obverse
|Seal of Virginia (1865–1873).png|Seal of Virginia, 1865 to 1873
|Seal of Virginia (1875).png|1875 seal obverse
|Seal of Virginia (1876).png|1876 seal obverse
|Seal of Virginia (1894), obverse and reverse.png|1894 seal obverse and reverse
|Seal of Virginia (1904).png|1904 seal obverse
}}