Coat of arms of Virginia
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| Use | Civil and state flag |
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| Adopted | February 1, 1950 |
| Design | Obverse of the Seal of Virginia on an azure field |
| Designed by | Charles Kek |
| Seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia | |
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The seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
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An illustration of the Virginia state historical coat of arms from 1876.
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| Details | |
| Armiger | Commonwealth of Virginia |
| Adopted | February 1, 1950 |
The Seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia is the official seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia, a U.S. state. The flag of Virginia consists of the obverse of the seal against a blue background. The flag was first adopted at the beginning of the American Civil War in 1861, and standardized by the General Assembly in February 1950. The flag may be decorated with a white fringe along the fly; this is usually done when the flag is displayed indoors.
In 2001, the North American Vexillological Association (NAVA) surveyed its members on the designs of the 72 U.S. state, U.S. territorial and Canadian provincial flags. NAVA's members ranked Virginia's flag 54th out of the 72.
In May 1776 the Virginian colony declared its independence from Great Britain. On July 1, 1776, a committee of four was appointed to make a proper seal for the Commonwealth of Virginia. The four men were Richard Henry Lee, George Mason, George Wythe, and Robert Carter Nicholas. Four days later the committee's report for a design of the seal was read, and George Mason presented it to the Virginia government. It was voted on and approved that same day. It is not known for certain which members of the committee were chiefly responsible for the design of the seal, but it is generally believed to be principally the work of George Wythe.
The seal makers did not want a design which in any way resembled the style of coats-of-arms used in Great Britain. Because of the strong admiration for the Roman Republic felt by the Virginian leaders, the design of the new seal was taken from the mythology of Ancient Rome. They also chose a two-sided design, as shown above.
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