Legend: Upon a ribbon encircling the lower half of the design the words "Sigillum Civitatis Novi Eboraci".

It features common elements from coats of arms used throughout heraldry, such as a shield, supporters, and a crest.

[a] The two supporters represent friendship between Native Americans and colonists: in the dexter position, a sailor colonist holds a plummet—a navigational tool—in his right hand, while over his right shoulder is another navigational tool, a cross-staff; in the sinister position, a Lenape native to Manhattan rests his left hand on a bow.

Specifically, the flour barrels and windmill sails represent the tremendous wealth generated by New York City from the Bolting Act of 1674.

[3] The eagle replaced an imperial crown, which had represented the authority of the British monarch during the colonial period.

The use of this date has been a source of debate among historians, as there is evidence that the first European settlers actually arrived in the region, and established what became New Amsterdam, in 1624.

Beneath the date is a ribbon that bears the legend SIGILLUM CIVITATIS NOVI EBORACI, which means "Seal of the City of New York".

Impressed or printed on documents, publications or stationery, issued or used by or in the name of or under the authority of the city, its agencies or of any borough or department thereof, 2.

The only exception is in its use on the city flag or "for architectural or ornamental purposes", in which case the Latin legend may be omitted.

The original full-color rendering of this first official symbol of the city has since been lost, but historians have conjectured that, on the shield, the central pale was black, the three crosses were white, the field was red, and the bands bordering the central pale were either gold or white, in keeping with the heraldic rule of tincture.

The draped mantling at the top was likely a tricolor of orange, white, and blue, referencing the flag of the Netherlands in use at the founding of New Amsterdam.

[12] In 1683, the city's Common Council petitioned the colonial governor of New York for an official charter, including the right to designate their own seal.

The design contained many elements that survive in the current city seal—namely, a shield featuring windmill sails, beavers, and flour barrels, a colonial sailor and a Native American as supporters, a Latin legend, a founding date (in this case, 1686 was used), and a laurel wreath.

Specifically, the seal depicts the Native American wearing a war bonnet, which was not a headdress known to be worn among Eastern Algonquian peoples.

[16] In 1735, a feud between the Common Council and the city's mayor, Paul Richard, resulted in the creation of an additional seal.

Among the first post-war acts of the New York City Common Council was the removal of the British imperial crown from these seals.

[18] Aside from the removal of the British crown and addition of a new crest, the 1784 city seal differed from its predecessor only by rendering the Native American's bow, incorrectly, as double-curved (which was a type of bow not typically used by Algonquian peoples), removing the cross-staff from the colonial sailor, and adding fruit-bearing branches on either side of the shield.

In some versions used during this period, the sailor and Native American switched sides or were depicted in a seated position.

This committee, composed of members of the city's Arts Commission, worked with the New-York Historical Society to study imagery and seals going back to the earliest days of New Amsterdam.

[10] Incorporating that historical iconography, the committee developed a new seal design, which was submitted to the Board of Aldermen (formerly known as the Common Council) on March 16, 1915.

The board approved the design seven days later, and the Arts Commission contracted renowned American sculptor Paul Manship to develop a physical version of the revised seal.

Despite objections from historians and his advisers, Mayor Abraham Beame signed O'Dwyer's bill changing the date on the city flag in 1975.

For example, on July 27, 2020, the city's mayor, Bill de Blasio, recommended that a commission study the appropriateness of the seal's design in the wake of the George Floyd protests.