State seals appear on many railroad stocks and bonds, often substituting for state names. Therefore, to properly identify the states of origin for many certificates, you must be able to identify state seals.

To help you decipher state seals, I have assembled both a collection of all state seals and a finding system.

The state seals that I have assembled here are generally official in nature. Unfortunately, not all states make good copies available on their web sites. Please help if you find better copies.

State seals that appear on stocks and bonds are extremely variable in appearance. State laws often prevented engravers from using "official" state seals. Engravers often modified the the most important elements of official state seals and then added new surrounding features. The least modified seals are found on certificates from the states of Alabama, Georgia, Rhode Island, and Texas.

Pennsylvania's seal, on the other hand, is represented by a huge number of variants. Generally, Pennsylvania's seal shows two horses rearing on their hind legs on both sides of a plaque. In actual fact, the official Pennsylvania state seal is the central plaque that the horses surround. Practically all images on certificates - and on the state flag - include the horses.

Click here to find out what state matches a state seal you already have on a certificate
This is a special search that will allow you to find states based on features your state seals are most likely to display.

.Click here to see a collection of images of ALL the state seals.