User:West Virginian/Seal of West Virginia

The Great Seal of West Virginia is the official seal of the U.S. state of West Virginia and was officially adopted by the West Virginia Legislature on September 26, 1863.

Design
The state seal symbolizes the principal pursuits and resources of West Virginia. When the seal was adopted by the state legislature in 1863, it was to measure 2.5 in in diameter.

Obverse
The obverse side of the seal bears the constitutional designation of the state's name, “State of West Virginia”, along the top of the seal's circumference, together with the state's Latin motto, Montani Semper Liberi, (English: "Mountaineers Are Always Free") along the seal's bottom edge. In the center of the state seal is a large ivy-draped rock bearing the date of the state's admission to the Union. To the left of the rock stands a miner, and to the right of the rock stands a farmer. In front of the rock are two hunters’ rifles, upon which rests a Phrygian Cap, or “Cap of Liberty”.

Reverse
The reverse side of the state seal is not in common use today. It was intended to be employed when the state seal was affixed to official documents by ribbons and suspended in the manner of a medal.

History
The state of West Virginia was admitted to the Union on June 20, 1863. That same day, on the third day of the session of the West Virginia Legislature, which convened in the old Institute Building in Wheeling, a committee on State Seals was appointed. The state senators appointed to serve on this committee were Daniel D. T. Farnsworth, Edwin Maxwell, and Slack. The committee's report on the state seal was released on September 26, 1863, and adopted by the West Virginia Legislature on that date.

The state seal was designed by Joseph H. Diss Debar of Doddridge County in 1863 at the request of the inaugural West Virginia Legislature.

Usage and protocol
The present seal of West Virginia is established in the state constitution as the "great seal of the state of West Virginia," and is to be maintained by the Secretary of State of West Virginia, who is the keeper of the seal and is to use the seal for official purposes as prescribed by law.

In addition to the seal of West Virginia, Chapter 30, Article 1 of the Code of West Virginia avers that all boards of examination and registration in the state are to adopt their own seals.