![[City Seal, Baltimore, Maryland]](/msa/mdmanual/36loc/bcity/images/1198-1-883b.gif)
The Seal of Baltimore is the official government emblem of the City of Baltimore, Maryland. The current seal was adopted for use in 1827.
With the image of the Battle Monument at its centre, the Seal is in the shape of an ellipse. Around the inner edge of the ellipse are the words, CITY OF BALTIMORE, while under the image of the Battle Monument is the year 1797, the year in which the City first was incorporated (Chapter 68, Acts of 1796; Chapter 54, Acts of 1797). Color versions of the Seal are in black and gold, representative of the colors of the Calvert family's coat of arms. It was Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Lord Baltimore, who founded the Maryland colony.
© Copyright Maryland State Archives