Flag of New Jersey

How to read it

NJ.gov dates the flag to 1896. Its colours are set by a law of 1965 (Senate Bill No. 159): the official colours of the State “for use on the State flag and for other purposes” are buff and Jersey blue, defined by The Color Association of the United States as Buff, Cable No. 65015, U.S. Army Buff, and Jersey Blue, Cable No. 70087, Royal Blue. The bill as introduced said “colonial blue”; an Assembly amendment of May 3, 1965 changed it to “Jersey”. The arms are those of the great seal, N.J.S.A. 52:2-1: three ploughs on a blue shield; Liberty, holding a pole topped by a red cap, and Ceres, holding a gold cornucopia of apples, plums and grapes, as supporters; a sovereign’s helmet with six gold bars, and a horse’s head as the crest; and beneath, a blue scroll with “Liberty and Prosperity” and the figures “1776”. The motto is also New Jersey’s state motto.

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What the seal’s five parts stand for

Pierre Eugène du Simitière created the seal in 1777, and NJ.gov reads it in five parts. The helmet and the horse’s head crest stand for New Jersey’s independence as a state and its place as one of the first states. Liberty’s staff carries a liberty cap, which former slaves in ancient Rome saw as a badge of freedom. Ceres is the Roman goddess of grain, with a cornucopia of the fruit and vegetables New Jersey grows. The three ploughs stand for the state’s farming tradition, and the scroll gives the motto and 1776, the year New Jersey became a state.

Telling it from New York’s flag

Both show two women either side of a shield, and one of them is Liberty on each. New Jersey’s field is buff, the second woman is Ceres with a cornucopia, the shield has three ploughs and the crest is a horse’s head. New York’s flag is blue, the second woman is Justice, blindfolded with a sword and scales, the shield shows a sunrise over mountains and a river, and an eagle on a globe is above.

Telling it from Delaware’s flag

Delaware’s flag uses blue and buff too, the other way round: a colonial blue field with a buff diamond around the arms, and the date December 7, 1787 below. New Jersey’s field is buff all over, with no diamond.