Great Seal

All of the United States' states and territories employ a seal to authenticate and ratify documents and accordingly a seal of Puerto Rico exists, but the traditional coat of arms is used as the main emblem of the commonwealth. The seal has most of the elements of the coat of arms, but the religious elements have been stripped away. In the seal, the lamb, which no longer has a halo, carries a white banner instead of one with a red cross. The lamb's staff does not have the cross mounted on top. The book the lamb sits on does not have the seals of the Book of Revelation. The first Governors used the seal as their emblem but in recent years the usage of the seal has been limited to being the official emblem used to represent Puerto Rico on its legal documents when they are sealed.

Seal of the Governor

The Seal of the Governor

Governor of Puerto Rico

The Governor of Puerto Rico is the Head of Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Since 1948, the Governor has been elected by the people of Puerto Rico...

 is the official symbol of the executive head of Puerto Rico. It follows the design used by the Seal of the President of the United States

Seal of the President of the United States

The Seal of the President of the United States is used to mark correspondence from the U.S. president to the United States Congress, and is also used as a symbol of the presidency. The central design, based on the Great Seal of the United States, is the official coat of arms of the U.S...

. There are several variants of the Governor's Seal in use.

Seals of the Government of Puerto Rico

There are several seals of the different sections of the Puerto Rican Government

Government of Puerto Rico

The Government of Puerto Rico is a republican form of government subject to U.S. jurisdiction and sovereignty. Its current powers are all delegated by the United States Congress and lack full protection under the United States Constitution...

See also

• Puerto Rico
  Puerto Rico
  Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
  
  
• Spanish heraldry
  Spanish heraldry
  The tradition and art of heraldry first appeared in Spain at about the beginning of the eleventh century AD and its origin was similar to other European countries: the need for knights and nobles to distinguish themselves from one another on the battlefield, in jousts and in tournaments...
  
  

• Coat of arms
  Coat of arms
  A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
  
  
• Heraldry
  Heraldry
  Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
  
  

• Coat of Arms of the U.S. States
  Coat of Arms of the U.S. States
  The coats of arms of the U.S. states are coats of arms, adopted by those states that have chosen, that are an official symbol of the state, alongside their seal. Eighteen states have officially adopted coats of arms...
  
  
• Seals of the U.S. states
  Seals of the U.S. states
  The following gallery displays the official seals of the 50 states, federal district, and territories of the United States of America:-See also:* Coat of Arms of the U.S. States* Seals of Governors of the U.S. States* Flags of the U.S. states...
  
  

External links

• Coat of Arms information from the Government of Puerto Rico