Seal of West Virginia

{{short description|Official government emblem of the U.S. state of West Virginia}}

{{Infobox coat of arms

|name = Great Seal of the State of West Virginia

|image = Seal of West Virginia.svg

|image_width = 200

|middle =

|middle_width =

|middle_caption =

|lesser =

|lesser_width =

|lesser_caption =

|image2 = Seal of West Virginia (Reverse).png

|image2_width = 150

|image2_caption = Reverse

|image3 = West Virginia state coat of arms (illustrated, 1876).jpg

|image3_width = 150

|image3_caption = Historical coat of arms (illustrated, 1876)

|armiger = State of West Virginia

|year_adopted = 1863

|crest =

|torse =

|shield =

|supporters =

|compartment =

|motto = Montani Semper Liberi
Libertas E Fidelitate

|orders =

|other_elements =

|earlier_versions =

|use =

}}

The Great Seal of the State of West Virginia was adopted in September 1863.{{cite web|url=http://www.wv.gov/documents/statgeninfo.pdf |title=West Virginia Statistical Information

|access-date=2014-06-20 |publisher=State of West Virginia}} The obverse center of the seal contains a boulder that has been inscribed June 20, 1863, the date West Virginia became a state. In front of the boulder lie two crossed rifles and a liberty cap as a symbol of the state's fight for liberty. The two men on either side of the boulder represent agriculture and industry. On the left stands a farmer with an ax and plow before a cornstalk. On the other side stands a miner with a pickaxe, and behind him an anvil and sledge hammer. The outer ring contains the text "State of West Virginia" and the state's motto "Montani Semper Liberi", ("Mountaineers are Always Free"; the state nickname is "the Mountain State"). The reverse of the seal, also called the lesser seal, is the official seal of the governor. Its motto reads "Libertas E Fidelitate" ("Liberty out of Fidelity").{{cite web |url=http://www.sos.wv.gov/public-services/execrecords/Pages/WestVirginiaStateSeal.aspx |title=West Virginia State Seal |website=www.sos.wv.gov |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091001110459/http://www.sos.wv.gov/public-services/execrecords/Pages/WestVirginiaStateSeal.aspx |archive-date=2009-10-01}}