This seal was cut when Daniel Webster was Secretary of State, and a fair explanation of its deficiencies is that he knew nothing about the details of the prescribed design, and entrusted the business of securing a new seal to his subordinates, who were equally ignorant; and they in turn entrusted it to the engraver. Unquestionably, the Secretary of State has no authority to change the device of the arms, as it is prescribed by law, in the slightest degree, nor could the President himself properly authorize such a change. As the seal was created by Congress it would require an act of Congress to alter it. In this respect it is different from the arms of a monarchy. The arms of Great Britain, for example, being formed from those of different monarchs, have, in fact, undergone three changes since American independence—in 1801, when the arms of France were excluded and the arms of Hanover placed “over all on an escutcheon of pretense,” “ensigned with the electoral bonnet;” in 1816, when the bonnet was changed for the Hanoverian crown; and upon the death of William IV, when the present arrangement was made. How far the Secretary of State, as the custodian of the seal, may deviate from the original design in having a new one cut, provided he adheres to the terms of the creating law, is another question, which, as we shall see presently, was finally decided in favor of the conservative side. The centennial anniversary of the adoption of the seal was marked by a revival in interest concerning it, and C. A. L. Totten, then a first lieutenant in the Army, called the attention of the Treasury Department to the fact that the reverse had never been cut, suggesting that the time was appropriate for placing it upon a medal or coin. This met with the approval of the Department, so far as a medal was concerned, and under the supervision of Hon. A. Louden Snowden, then Director of the Mint at Philadelphia, a medal was struck in commemoration of the centennial anniversary of the adoption of the seal. The obverse closely resembled the first important illustration of the seal made after its adoption. This appeared in the Columbian Magazine for September, 1786, and was a spirited engraving. It differed from the official interpretation in the distribution of the stars, which were put about the eagle’s neck and head, instead of in a circle above the head. The olive branch had sixteen leaves and no fruits, and the rays of the sun extended through the clouds. The reverse of the medal contained the dates 1782 and 1882, to indicate its purpose, beside the mottoes.[31]