The one double is unlike most other world coinage that generally features the current head of state; the States of Guernsey (the local government) used a strictly Guernesiais motif, hence the royal seal of King Edward I given to the island in 1279 that featured on the Doubles. The original seal bore the three lions of England, crowned later to become leopards, surmounted by a branch to represent broom or 'planta genista', Edward's badge of rank. Below the seal was 'Guernesey' in French, the legal and everyday language of the island at that time.