Until the revolution, all New Hampshire state seals pictured the insignia of the British monarchy. The first original NH insignia for the colony of New Hampshire showed the state's primary resources, fish and trees, with a quiver of five arrows representing the then five counties. This symbol was quickly replaced with the image of a ship, a ship building yard and a rising sun, surrounded by laurels. Many crude versions of the seal were created until the state officially adopted a design in 1932. That version, used today, shows the first Portsmouth-built warship "Raleigh" on the stocks with a slip of land, a NH granite boulder and the rising sun. The story of the seal was documented in a pamphlet during the 1975 Bicentennial and funded by Old Mr. Boston distillers who released a "commemorative" liquor bottle.

By J. Dennis Robinson
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