Presidential seal

The Presidential seal is the symbol of the Presidential office. To ensure the authenticity of a document, the seal appears on any Presidential order or commission to federal office and on any document published in the President's name. Representations of the Presidential seal appear on Air Force One and Marine One and are placed on lecterns at which the President speaks.

The seal consists of a coat of arms encircled by 50 stars representing the states of the Union and the words “Seal of the President of the United States.” The coat of arms consists of a shield placed upon the breast of an American eagle. In its right talon the eagle holds an olive branch, symbolizing peace; in its left talon it holds a bundle of 13 gray arrows, representing the original colonies. Its beak grasps a gray scroll inscribed with the Latin words E Pluribus Unum (“Out of many, one”). Behind and above the eagle is a radiating glory (rays of light that emanate from a single point), on which appears an arc of 13 gray cloud puffs and a constellation of 13 gray five-pointed stars. This coat of arms is almost identical to the Great Seal of the United States.

The eagle on the coat of arms faced left, toward the gray arrows, until President Harry Truman ordered that it face right, looking toward the olive branch of peace.

See also Flag, Presidential