Wax Impression Seal, Colony of Virginia
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Circular wax disc covered with paper and followed by an impression of the seal of the Colony of Virginia. The obverse bears the royal arms of Great Britain as used from 1714 when George I ascended the throne until 1801 when the French arms were dropped from the second quarter and the Hanoverian arms moved from the fourth quarter to an escutcheon of pretense in the middle of the shield. The legend is: "GEORGIUS . III. D . G . MAG . BRI . FR . ET . HIB . REX . F . D . BRUN . ET . LUN . DUX . S . R . I . AR . THES . ET . EL." (George III, by the Grace of God, King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, Duke Brunswick and Lunneburg, arch-Treasurer and Elector of the Holy Roman Empire). The reverse depicts Virginia personified by an Indian kneeling before the King and presenting him with some tobacco. The legend is "SIGILLUM . PROVINCIAE . NOSTRAE . DE . VIRGINIA . IN . AMERICA" and in the exergue: "EN DAT VIRGINIA QUARTAM." (Seal of our colony in Virginia in America--Behold Virginia makes the fourth), i. e. the fourth crown--those of Great Britain, France, and Ireland being the other three.
