Armiger State of New Jersey | Adopted 1777 (modified 1928) | |
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Crest Upon a helm Or, a horse's head cabossed proper. Torse Argent and azure, the mantling azure doubled argent. Escutcheon Azure; per pale three ploughs proper. Supporters In dexter the goddess Liberty affronté carrying in her dexter hand a pole, proper, surmounted by a cap gules, with band azure at the bottom, displaying on the band six stars, argent; in sinister the goddess Ceres affronté bearing a cornucopia Or bearing apples, grapes, and plums proper | ||
The coat of arms of the state of New Jersey includes:
It was originally designed by Pierre Eugene du Simitiere in 1777 and was modified slightly in 1928.
The seal is the central motif in the flag of New Jersey and the Great Seal of the State of New Jersey.
The coat of arms contains a horse's head; beneath that is a helmet, showing that New Jersey governs itself, and it has three plows on a shield to highlight the state's agriculture tradition, which shows why the state has the nickname "Garden State". The two Goddesses represent the state motto, "Liberty and Prosperity". Liberty is on the left. She is holding a staff with a liberty cap on it, and the word liberty underneath her. The goddess on the right is Ceres, goddess of agriculture. She is holding a cornucopia with prosperity written below her.
According to the minutes of the New Jersey General Assembly for May 11, 1896, the date on which the Assembly officially approved the flag as the state emblem, the buff color is due indirectly to George Washington, who had ordered on September 14, 1779, that the uniform coats of the New Jersey Continental Line be dark (Jersey) blue, with buff facings. Buff-colored facings had until then been reserved only for his own uniform and those of other Continental generals and their aides. Then, on February 14, 1780 the Continental War Officers in Philadelphia directed that the uniform coat facings of all regiments were to be the same as the background color of the regiments' state flag.
The seal is described in New Jersey statute Title 52, §2-1:
The great seal of this state shall be engraved on silver, which shall be round, of two and a half inches in diameter and three-eighths of an inch thick; the arms shall be three ploughs in an escutcheon, azure; supporters, Liberty and Ceres. The Goddess Liberty to carry in her dexter hand a pole, proper, surmounted by a cap gules, with band azure at the bottom, displaying on the band six stars, argent; tresses falling on shoulders, proper; head bearing over all a chaplet of laurel leaves, vert; overdress, tenne; underskirt, argent; feet sandaled, standing on scroll. Ceres: Same as Liberty, save overdress, gules; holding in left hand a cornucopia, or, bearing apples, plums and grapes surrounded by leaves, all proper; head bearing over all a chaplet of wheat spears, vert. Shield surmounted by sovereign's helmet, six bars, or; wreath and mantling, argent and azure. Crest: A horse's head, proper. Underneath the shield and supporting the goddesses, a scroll azure, bordered with tenne, in three waves or folds; on the upper folds the words "Liberty and Prosperity" ; on the under fold in Arabic numerals, the figures "1776". These words to be engraved round the arms, viz., "The Great Seal of the State of New Jersey".
In 2015 a circular letter issued by the State of New Jersey Department of the Treasury addressed the issue of unapproved and incorrect versions of "The Great Seal of the State of New Jersey". Many of which incorrectly show the underskirt in blue and not argent.
Flag
The flag of the State of New Jersey includes the coat of arms of the state on a buff-colored background. In a 1965 law, the specific color shades of Jersey blue and buff were defined by the state. Using the Cable color system developed by The Color Association of the United States, Jersey blue was defined as Cable No. 70087; buff was defined as Cable No. 65015.
In 2001, the North American Vexillological Association surveyed its members on the designs of the 72 U.S. state, U.S. territorial and Canadian provincial flags. The survey ranked the flag of New Jersey 46 out of the 72.