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I thought that U.S. states normally only used seals. Does this symbol have any official status, and if so does anybody know why Alabama has both a seal and a coat of arms? Valentinian(talk) / (contribs) 10:59, 24 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
@Valentinian (and anyone else reading this 12 years later): Yes, it was adopted by an act of the state legislature. States seem to be free to adopt any symbols they see fit (see List of U.S. state tartans). Strictly speaking, a seal is for authenticating documents, and a coat of arms is for identifying the affiliation or ownership of a person, organization or piece of property. In US use, a government seal often includes the corresponding coat of arms in its design, and the two may be used interchangeably. Ibadibam (talk) 22:48, 27 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for the reply. :) ValentinianT / C 19:56, 3 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]