The Great Seal of the State of Georgia is a device that has historically been used to authenticate government documents executed by the state of Georgia. The first great seal of the state was specified in the State Constitution of 1777, and its current form was adopted in 1799 with alterations in 1914.
On February 8, 1799 an Act of the Legislature stated the seal as "On the one side a view of the seashore with a ship bearing the flag of the United States, riding near a wharf, receiving aboard hogsheads of tobacco and bales of cotton, emblematic of the exports of this State; at a small distance a boat landing from the interior of the State with hogsheads etc., on board representing her internal traffic; in the back part of the same side, a man in the act of ploughing; and at a small distance a flock of sheep in different postures shaded by a flourishing tree, the motto on this side agriculture and commerce, 1799. That the other side contain three pillars supporting an arch, with the word Constitution, engraven within the same, emblematic of the Constitution supported by three departments of the government, viz.: the legislative, judicial and executive, the first pillar to have engraven on its base, wisdom; the second justice; and the third, moderation; on the right of the last pillar a man standing with a drawn sword, representing the aid of the military in defense of the Constitution; the motto, State of Georgia, 1799".
Current design
The obverse (front) of the seal is centered on the coat of arms of the state: an arch with three columns, the arch symbolizing the state's Constitution and the columns representing the three branches of government (legislative, executive, and judicial). The words of the official state motto, "Wisdom, Justice, Moderation," are inscribed on scrolls that are wrapped around the columns. A member of the Georgia Militia stands between the second and third columns, holding a drawn sword in his right hand, representing the citizen/soldier's defense of the state's Constitution.