The Best and the Worst of the 50 State Seals, Part 2

This is the second post (of five) rating the designs of each of the 50 state seals. I suggest starting with the first post, which gives the background and explains the criteria I'm using for grading. 

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Rating the State Seals: Hawaii through Maryland

Hawaii's state seal was adopted at statehood in 1959. It features King Hamehameha, the goddess Liberty holding the Hawaiian flag, a rising sun, a phoenix, 8 taro leaves representing the 8 main islands, banana leaves, ferns, a kapu stick, and more. The state motto, written in Hawaiian, translates to “The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.” There is no question that this seal represents the state well with all those elements, but the resulting design is very crowded. It would be a much better design with just half the elements. 

Design 2.5, Representation 5 = 7.5

The state seal of Idaho was updated in 1957 to highlight Idaho’s main industries (mining, agriculture, and forestry) and the state’s natural beauty. The woman symbolizes justice and the virgin land of Idaho and the man is a miner; together, they protect the items shown in the shield. Idaho's state flower (syringa) is represented, as is the state motto. It represents the state well and is nicely balanced, if a bit crowded. I'd change the colors to be more harmonious. (Fun fact: Idaho has the only state seal designed by a woman.)

Design 3, Representation 5 = 8

The state seal of Illinois was most recently updated in 1869, replacing the original seal that was nearly identical to the seal of the United States. The design features a bald eagle in profile, on a rock, holding a shield, with a banner in its beak proclaiming the state motto (State Sovereignty, National Union) reading from bottom to top, with a twist in the banner that makes word Sovereignty upside-down. There is an oddly-shaped sunrise over water. I am not a fan of this design. While it no longer looks like the seal of the US, it still has many of the same elements, including a shield with 13 stars and stripes. Illinois is the 21st state, not one of the original 13 Colonies. The statehood date (1818) appears twice, which is unnecessary. There is no reason for 1868, the year the seal was redesigned (before being adopted in 1869), to appear on the seal. I hate the spacing / kerning of the text. 

Design 1.5, Representation 1 = 2.5

The most recent version of the state seal of Indiana is from 1963. It features a forest with a man felling a sycamore tree, a bison running away, and the sun setting behind some hills. The designs in blue on either side of the date are the leaves of the tulip tree (the state tree), with dots and diamonds in between them for no apparent reason. (Am I the only one who sees a chicken?) There are 14 rays on the sun (Indiana is the 19th state, so this is not symbolic). I don't hate the seal, but I don't like it either. Without the text and the date, I would have never known this was supposed to be Indiana. Many states have (or had) bison, forests, and hills. 

Design 2.5, Representation 1.5 = 4

The state seal of Iowa was created in 1847, a year after statehood. It includes a soldier in a wheat field (the predominant crop of 1840's Iowa vs. the corn and soybeans that dominate now). He is holding a gun and the US flag topped with a liberty cap. He is surrounded by symbols of farming, mining, and transportation. The ship is the Steamboat Iowa, famous for holding the speed record on the Mississippi from 1843 to 1849. An eagle at the top of the seal holds the state motto. (Fun fact: The wording describing the seal is controversial, but it remains unchanged as of January 2026.) The design of this seal isn't terrible and it represents 1840's Iowa decently. The scale of the items is weird, unless that's a child's dollhouse with a working chimney. The motto is hard to read, since you have to start with the bottom left, move above it, then across, then down. I'd like this seal more without the soldier, US flag, and (especially) the gun.

Design 2.5, Representation 3 = 5.5 

The state seal of Kansas, adopted in 1861, focuses on the history of the state. It includes a sun rising in the east, a river and steamboat (representing commerce), a man plowing (representing agriculture), a settler's cabin plus covered wagons heading west (representing pioneer life and Westward Expansion), indigenous people on horseback hunting bison, the state motto ("To the stars through difficulties") and 34 stars representing Kansas' admission as the 34th state. This is a well-balanced design that represents the state very well. I appreciate that the original inhabitants are acknowledged (and not in an adversarial way). 

Design 4, Representation 4.5 = 8.5

The state seal of Kentucky was originally designed in 1792, then simplified 170 years later to portray "a pioneer meeting a gentleman in a swallowtail coat." Many believe the man in buckskin is Daniel Boone (a pioneer in the exploration of Kentucky) and the man in the suit is Henry Clay (Kentucky senator and eventual Secretary of State), but officially they are not specific people and instead represent all frontiersmen and statesmen. The seal also includes the state motto and goldenrod, the state flower. This seal could be so much better, but at least it's not too busy. 

Design 1.5, Representation 2.5 = 4

The state seal of Louisiana was most recently revised in 2006. The seal is very distinctive, featuring a pelican in her piety, traditionally a Christian symbol of self-sacrifice. The state motto (Union, Justice and Confidence) appears prominently. While the pelican might have first been chosen to honor the state's Catholic heritage during a time of anti-Catholicism elsewhere, I'd rather see the Pelican State design a more secular seal with a pelican that isn't actively bleeding. It's not the Self-Sacrifice State, after all. 

Design: 2, Representation 2 = 4

The state seal of Maine was adopted in 1820. In the center is a shield featuring a moose, resting in front of a pine tree, between the water and the woods. Two men (a farmer with a scythe and a sailor with an anchor) stand on top of a banner, on either side of the shield. The top of the seal has the state motto ("I direct") and the North Star. This design isn't particularly attractive, but it could be dramatically improved with just a few changes. I would expand the scene in the shield to fill the entire background of the seal, then move DIRIGO to where MAINE is located and write STATE OF MAINE in large letters across the top. Right now, the red DIRIGO banner looks like a brand name on a package of pasta sauce. 

Design 2, Representation 4 = 6

The state seal of Maryland is two-sided, but since the front was never cut and thus not used as a seal, I'll be focusing on the reverse. It was updated in 1959. It features the Calvert coat of arms being held by a farmer (holding a spade) and a fisherman (holding a fish). Behind them is ermine fur and at the top is a crest with two pennants. Below is the state motto. The literal translation is "Deeds are males, words are females" but in 2017 they changed the official translation to "Strong deeds, gentle words." The poorly-spaced text around the seal translates to "With favor wilt thou compass us as with a shield" and 1632 is the date Maryland was established. This design represents the origin of the (province then colony then) state well enough, but I think there is too much emphasis given to the founder. I'd like to see more of the natural resources, industry, or something else. 

Design 3, Representation 3 = 6

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So far, we have Arizona (10), California (9.5), Kansas (8.5), Alaska (8), Idaho (8), Delaware (7.5), Hawaii (7.5), Colorado (7), Florida (6.5), Maine (6), Maryland (6), Iowa (5.5), Kentucky (4), Louisiana (4), Indiana (4), Alabama (3), Georgia (3), Illinois (2.5), Arkansas (1.5), and Connecticut (1). Let me know in the comments if you agree with my rankings. Tomorrow I'll look at the next ten seals.