Great Seal of New Jersey

Liberty stands at the left of the shield, holding a staff topped with a Phrygian cap. The Phrygian cap was a soft conical cap associated in ancient Rome with freed slaves. In the American Revolutionary period, it became a widely used symbol for liberation from monarchy and British rule.

Ceres, the Roman goddess of grain and agriculture, stands at the right of the shield holding a cornucopia overflowing with produce. She appears on several American state seals from the Revolutionary era, reflecting how central farming was to the colonial economy.

The shield shows three golden plows on a blue field. Plows are one of the oldest agricultural symbols in European heraldry, representing cultivation and the land. Their presence on New Jersey's shield identifies the state's primary economic activity at the time of founding.

The horse's head sits at the top of the design as the heraldic crest, above the knight's helmet. New Jersey was a significant horse-breeding and horse-trading region in the colonial era. Its position as the primary land route between New York and Philadelphia made horses central to the state's transportation and commerce.

The motto "Liberty and Prosperity" appears on a scroll at the base of the seal. Each word names one of the two supporting figures: Liberty on the left, and Ceres on the right who represents agricultural abundance. No interpretation is needed; the design and the motto say the same thing twice.

The date 1776 appears on the shield. It marks the year New Jersey adopted its own state constitution on July 2, 1776, and the year the Continental Congress declared American independence. New Jersey was among the first colonies to formalize self-governance, and the date anchors the seal to that founding year.

A knight's helmet sits above the shield and below the horse's head crest. In European heraldry, a helmet on a coat of arms indicates sovereignty and the right of self-governance. Its presence on New Jersey's seal signals that the state claims authority as an independent governing entity.