Official government emblem of the U.S. state of Colorado
The Great Seal of the State of Colorado
Armiger
State of Colorado[1]
Adopted
March 15, 1877
Motto
Nil sine numine[2] "Nothing without providence"[3]
The Great Seal of the State of Colorado is an adaptation of the territorial seal which was adopted by the First Territorial Assembly on November 6, 1861.[1][2] The only changes made to the territorial seal design being the substitution of the words "State of Colorado" and the figures "1876" for the corresponding inscriptions on the territorial seal.[2] The first General Assembly of the State of Colorado approved the adoption of the state seal on March 15, 1877.[2] The Colorado Secretary of State alone is authorized to affix the Great Seal of Colorado to any document whatsoever.
By statute, the seal of the state is two and one-half inches in diameter with the following devices inscribed thereon: At the top is the Eye of Providence or "All Seeing Eye" within a triangle, from which golden rays radiate on two sides. Below the eye is a Roman fasces, a bundle of birch or elm rods with a battle axe bound together with a ribbon of red, white and blue with the words, Union and Constitution. The bundle of rods bound together symbolizes strength which is lacking in the single rod. The axe symbolizes authority and leadership. Below the fasces is a heraldic shield bearing across the top a red sky behind three snow-capped mountains and clouds above them. The lower half of the shield has two miner's tools, the pick and sledge hammer, crossed on a golden ground. Below the shield, on a scroll, is the motto "Nil Sine Numine", Latin words meaning "Nothing without providence" or "nothing without the Deity",[3] and at the bottom the figures 1876, the year Colorado came into statehood.[2]
The design for the territorial seal which served as a model for the state seal or Great Seal of Colorado has been variously credited, but the individual primarily responsible was Lewis Ledyard Weld, the territorial secretary, appointed by President Abraham Lincoln in July 1861. There is also evidence that Territorial Governor William Gilpin was also at least partially responsible for the design. Both Weld and Gilpin were knowledgeable in the art and symbolism of heraldry. Elements of design from both the Weld and Gilpin families’ coats of arms are incorporated in the territorial seal.
^ ab"State Seal". Colorado State Archives. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
^ abcdeKopel, Jerry (11 April 2008). "Mysteries of Colorado's Great Seal". Rocky Mountain News. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
^ ab"State songs and more". Montrose Daily Press. Montrose, CO. 15 March 2007. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
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