Great Seal of the United States depicted a lion holding seven arrows representing their seven provinces. State currency may have provided further inspiration; a 1775 South Carolina bill showed a bundle of 13 arrows and a 1775 Maryland note depicted a hand with an olive branch of 13 leaves. [[File:US Great Seal Charles Thomson Preliminary Design.jpg|thumb|left|[[Charles Thomson|Thomson's]] drawing, the basis for the final seal]] For the reverse, Thomson essentially kept Barton's design, but re-added the triangle around the Eye of Providence and changed the mottos to "Annuit Cœptis" and "Novus Ordo Seclorum". Thomson sent his designs back to Barton, who made some final alterations. The stripes
Great Seal of the United States [[United States Congress]] ordered "that the seal heretofore used by the United States in Congress assembled, shall be, and hereby is declared to be, the seal of the United States." The final design was a combination of elements provided by all three committees: The metallic die of the obverse side of the Great Seal is what actually [[Embossing (paper)|embosses]] the design onto documents. These dies eventually wear down, requiring replacements to be made. The current die is the seventh engraving of the seal, and the actual design on the dies has evolved over time. [[File:US Great Seal 1782 drawing.png|thumb|Drawing of