Great Seal of North Carolina

Liberty is the figure on the left side of the seal. She holds a pole topped with a Phrygian cap, the classical symbol of freed slaves in Rome that became a standard emblem of liberty in revolutionary-era American iconography. In her other hand she holds a document representing constitutional government.

Plenty stands on the right side of the seal, holding a cornucopia from which grain and produce spill. She represents the agricultural abundance of North Carolina, which was one of the most productive farming colonies before independence.

The date May 20, 1775, refers to the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, a document that citizens of Mecklenburg County, near present-day Charlotte, allegedly signed a full year before the national Declaration. If authentic, it would make North Carolina the first place in America to formally declare independence from Britain.

The date April 12, 1776, refers to the Halifax Resolves, passed by North Carolina's Provincial Congress in Halifax. The resolves formally instructed North Carolina's delegates to the Continental Congress to vote in favor of independence, the first official action by any colony to do so.

Esse Quam Videri is Latin for "To be rather than to seem." The phrase comes from Cicero's De Amicitia, written in 44 BC as a dialogue on the nature of true friendship and integrity. North Carolina adopted it as the state motto and placed it at the base of the seal.

A sailing ship appears in the background of the seal, representing North Carolina's maritime commerce. The state's ports, particularly at Wilmington and New Bern on the Cape Fear and Neuse rivers, were active trade hubs throughout the colonial era.

Mountains rise in the background of the seal, representing the Blue Ridge and Appalachian ranges that define North Carolina's western geography. Their presence acknowledges the full geographic range of the state, from the Atlantic coast to the inland highlands.