Talk:Seal of New York City

Date
I think the original date that was on the seal was 1664, which the city then decided to change sometime in the 70s. The original date of 1664 was when New Amsterdam became New York. The 1625 date is like it has in the article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.72.44.116 (talk) 04:21, 29 June 2010 (UTC) This is my own photo of the seal from a few months ago. That particular seal had the old date still on it. I think it was on an NYC high school. I licensed this creative commons, so feel free to stick this in the article if anyone wants to. http://www.flickr.com/photos/nyer82/4744298421/ —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.72.44.116 (talk) 15:47, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

Colorized seal
Switched to colorized seal because it's just downright prettier, and you can actually see all the elements described in the text.Thirdgen 08:07, 6 April 2007 (UTC)


 * I switched back to the black-and-white because the colorized seal is, per its own page, purely speculative on the part of the artist. The City only uses a monochromatic version on its website as well as related city media accounts like the Mayor's Photo Office.  Colorized might be prettier, but it's not actually used by the city.   SixFourThree (talk) 16:36, 13 January 2017 (UTC)SixFourThree

With all the various seels shown, couldn't the colorized one be shown too, and labeled as speculative? It would indeed be prettier and make it easier to see all the elements. WordwizardW (talk) 17:33, 4 June 2020 (UTC)


 * Thanks for your question. The point of the images, most of which I added, is to show either historical seals that the city actually used or the various ways that the city has adapted the seal. (I.e., to adorn city-owned property, the flag, police badges, etc.) As was pointed out above, the city has never used a colorized seal, so I can see no informational value to adding such an image. In the end, Wikipedia is meant to provide facts, not speculation. I hope this helps! IbIANTiA (talk) 10:46, 5 June 2020 (UTC)

Colonist's item
What is the colonist holding? Is it a plumb-bob or perhaps a small thurible? -- Bossi  ( talk • gallery • contrib ) 00:13, 20 November 2007 (UTC)


 * Nevermind... found the info. It's a plummet.  I'll update the article over the next several minutes (going to make a number of additions). -- Bossi  ( talk • gallery • contrib ) 00:35, 20 November 2007 (UTC)


 * OK back to my first question... is the plummet a fishing sinker or an engineer's plumb-bob? -- Bossi  ( talk • gallery • contrib ) 01:09, 20 November 2007 (UTC)
 * There is a plumb-bob in my family's crest and it was explained to me that its "straight" vertical line (its purpose for engineering is to establish a perfect vertical line) means "straightness" of character especially honesty and reliability. This is purely anecdotal, of course. I found references to the plumb-bob in multiple heraldry sites, but none gave the symbolism. The only reference to symbolism confirms my family anecdote, but it doesn't seem like a particularly reliable source either ("The plumb is a symbol of truth and rectitude of conduct.") This seems like it probably requires a trip to the library, but I am going to remove "navigation tool" (it's clearly not that). Vcrs (talk) 20:59, 19 September 2022 (UTC)

Dexter/Sinister
These are NOT the names of the figures. They simply mean (seal's) right and (seal's) left. They are vexological terms. As currently worded, the article incorrectly implies they are the names of the figures. Mjj237 (talk) 17:35, 5 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Better? -- Bossi  ( talk • gallery • contrib ) 23:35, 5 May 2008 (UTC)

Founding date
"This date, however, was chosen for somewhat unknown reasons and most historians believe no significant event actually occurred that year." I don't know if that is true, but the page on Fort Amsterdam states that "(t)he construction of the fort marked the official founding date of New York City as recognized by the Seal of New York City." --Lakonislate (talk) 19:57, 17 October 2009 (UTC)

Organizational and Content Changes
Hi - I've just posted a major revision to this article and wanted to leave an explanation. Basically, I was doing some research for a project and found a lot of info that is freely available that was not included in the Wiki article, so, to save others some Google searching or trips to the library, I figured I'd revise the article. I reorganized it in the same basic manner as other articles about seals or coats of arms. I added an infobox so that the description of the seal is no longer in the References section, added new sections on design, uses, and history, as well as subsections, so that info is easier to find, and I also uploaded some public domain images to illustrate the text. I deleted some text and one image that struck me as superfluous and otherwise tried to include the rest, revising for grammar or style as needed.

I tried to use what I could find in terms of sources, but this is a niche subject and really the Pine book is the most comprehensive source available. But if you know of other sources and think they should be incorporated, please feel free. Likewise, if you disagree with my changes or reasoning, feel free to proceed as you see fit. Thanks. IbIANTiA (talk) 14:41, 10 January 2020 (UTC)