Bald eagle 1782, the Continental Congress adopted the design for the Great Seal of the United States depicting a bald eagle grasping 13 arrows and an olive branch with its talons. The bald eagle appears on most official seals of the U.S. government, including the presidential seal, the presidential flag, and in the logos of many U.S. federal agencies. Between 1916 and 1945, the presidential flag (but not the seal) showed an eagle facing to its left (the viewer's right), which gave rise to the urban legend that the flag is changed to have the eagle face towards the olive branch in
Great Seal of the Irish Free State the grounds that the change in procedure had not been agreed. A compromise was negotiated whereby the Free State would use a separate "external seal" in the custody of its Minister for External Affairs. The external seal, designed by Percy Metcalfe, had on its obverse the same harp image as the Great Seal, and on its reverse the same image of the monarch enthroned as the British Great Seal of the Realm. George V formally presented the external seal to John W. Dulanty on 18 January 1932 at Sandringham House. The External Great Seal was used only on ratifications and