Seal of the United States Senate its talons, surrounded by the words "United States Senate," is commonly used by Senate offices and is often displayed on items sold in the Senate gift shop. Even more commonly seen perhaps is a version of the Great Seal of the United States (which also depicts an eagle clutching arrows and an olive branch in its claws) surrounded by a similar inscription. These often appear on Senate web pages, on podiums when senators speak, and other situations. The House of Representatives also uses similar designs for their unofficial seals, and since the United States Congress as a whole does not
Great Seal of the United States State, the term "Great Seal" refers to a physical mechanism which is used by the department to affix the seal to official government documents. This mechanism includes not only the die (metal engraved with a raised inverse image of the seal), but also the counterdie (also known as a [[Seal (emblem)#Seal design|counter-seal]]), the press, and cabinet in which it is housed. There have been several presses used since the seal was introduced, but none of the mechanisms used from 1782 through 1904 have survived. The seal, and apparently its press, was saved when [[Burning of Washington|Washington, D.C. was burned]] in