Great Seal of the United States wrote again regarding his die, and this time it was investigated more thoroughly. It is a very similar design to the first Great Seal die and obviously copied from it, even including a border of acanthus leaves. The eagle was different though, being more spirited with its wings more widely spread. More significantly, the arrows and the olive branch are switched, indicating an intentional "[[Heraldry#Differencing and cadency|difference]]" to distinguish it from the actual Great Seal. It is the same size as the first die, and is made of bronze. There was no indication that it could actually be used in
Great Seal of the United States foreign governments. The seal was once required on presidential [[proclamation]]s, and on some now-obsolete documents such as [[exequatur]]s and [[Mediterranean pass]]ports. On July 4, 1776, the same day that independence from [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]] was declared by the thirteen states, the [[Second Continental Congress|Continental Congress]] named the first committee to design a Great Seal, or national emblem, for the country. Similar to other nations, the United States needed an official symbol of sovereignty to formalize and seal (or sign) international treaties and transactions. It took six years, three committees, and the contributions of fourteen men before the [[Congress