Seal of the United States Senate with a shield on its breast, olive branches in its left talon, and arrows in its right. Above the eagle were rays of light emanating from clouds, representing the emergence of the new nation. Encircling the design was the legend . While the design was clearly based on the Great Seal of the United States, the engraving was distinctly different. It had a spade shield instead of the more familiar shape on the Great Seal, and the eagle had no scroll in its beak. The design of the clouds and light rays was also different, and the inscription showed it
Great Seal of the Irish Free State Full Powers, and not always on the latter. Lesser seals were used on lesser documents: The first use of the External Great Seal was not until 1937, for ratifying the Montreux Convention Regarding the Abolition of the Capitulations in Egypt. Successive governments minimised the use of monarch and the External Great Seal. The state typically conducted bilateral agreements at inter-government level rather than the nominally more prestigious head-of-state level, so that the Minister for External Affairs would use the internal Great Seal for any documents. After signing some multilateral treaties that would have required the External Great Seal for ratification,