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Official Dies of the Great Seal of the United States This first die and its impression on paper (On a die, the image of a seal is engraved in reverse.) The first die was cut in September 1782. It is 2 3/8 inches in diameter, made of iron or steel with a brass surface. The Great Seal was used for the first time on September 16th: on a document that gave General Washington full power to negotiate with the British and sign an agreement for the exchange, subsistence, and better treatment of prisoners of war. When the first die became worn out, it was replaced by the Throop die in 1841 (which incorrectly had only six arrows instead of the required thirteen). 1841 design In 1825, a special die for treaties was cut and used concurrently with the first two dies. Larger and more elegant, the Masi treaty-seal was used for pendant seals. Masi Treaty-Seal of 1825 (cover of its metal case) The Baumgarten die was cut in 1877. This fourth official die is almost identical to the 1841 die, including the wrong number of arrows. 1877 design A major effort went into creating the fifth die, the Tiffany die of 1885, whose design is the one we see today. After 17 years, a worn counter die led to improvements in the Great Seal press and the cutting of a sixth die, the Zeitler die of 1904. It is identical in design to to the Tiffany die. Impression from the 1904 die May 8, 1945 – Victory in Europe Based on the Zeitler die, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing made a master die in 1986 and struck the die in use today – the seventh Great Seal die. Unfortunately, this die still fails to show the rays of light breaking through the cloud, as specified in the Seal's official written description. Note: In 1885, Congress requested and purchased a die for the reverse of the Great Seal, but the pyramid & eye side has yet to be cut. The U.S. government's most accurate versions of the Great Seal are the Indian Peace Medals given out by President George Washington in the 1790s, Thomas Jefferson's Diplomatic Medal of 1792, and the Centennial Medal of 1882. They are based accurately on the official written description that defines the appearance of the Great Seal.