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 [[File:National seal.JPG|thumb|The reverse side of the Great Seal of the United States, as seen in [[Freedom Plaza]].]] At the [[Freedom Plaza]] in [[Northwest, Washington, D.C.|Northwest Washington, D.C.]], there is a monument to the Great Seal of the United States. This includes a plaque of the seal, followed by an inscription that reads: In 1776 the continental congress adopted a resolution calling for the creation of a seal for the new nation. In June 1782 the United States Congress approved a design which was manufactured in September of that year. In early 1881 the Department of State selected a new design