Montana

The Treasure State

Admitted November 8, 1889

The Montana state flag was first flown by the First Territorial Infantry during the Spanish-American War. Colonel Harry C. Kessler commissioned this flag featuring the state seal on a field of blue.

The flag was officially adopted February 7, 1905, with the only change made to eliminate the text “1st Montana Infantry U.S.V.”

In 1981, the word “Montana” was added to the flag and in 1985, it was specified that Helvetica Bold be used.

Composition

The Montana flag features a field of blue charged with the state seal, in full color, centered.

Above the seal, the word “Montana” is inscribed in gold.

In the 2001 North American Vexillological Association (NAVA) flag survey of United States and Canada flags, the flag of Montana was ranked 70th out of 72.

Iconography

tools
farming, mining
motto
natural resources, Gold and Silver
nature
natural beauty, the Great Falls of the Missouri River, the Rocky Mountains

Coat of Arms

The Montana coat of arms and state seal were designed in 1865 by Francis Thompson.

Colors

The Montana flag prominently features blue and gold, with supporting colors within the state seal.

Montana statute does not provide Cable or Pantone values for the colors of the flag.The hex values here are approximations.

Blue

#002a86

Gold

#ffd90f

Green 1

#a2d100

Green 2

#008600

Orange

#e86f00

Sienna

#a81800

Tan

#e8d9a8

Silver

#a89982

Light Blue

#a8efff

Medium Blue

#1691ff

Construction

The Montana flag is usually produced with a proportion of 2:3.

The height of the letters in “Montana” should be 1/10 the width of the fly.

The typeface for “Montana” should be Helvetica in bold.

The flag can optionally have golden fringe along the upper and lower edges.

Previous iteration

The original state flag featured the seal, but the word ”Montana” wasn’t added until years later. This version flew from 1905–1981.

Sources

Howe, Randy. Flags of the Fifty States: Their Colorful Histories and Significance. Guilford: The Globe Pequot Press, 2002. Print.
Mitchell, Henry. The State Arms of the Union. Boston: L. Prang & Co, 1876.
Montana Code Annotated. TITLE 1. GENERAL LAWS AND DEFINITIONS. CHAPTER 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS. Part 5. State Symbols -- Official Designations. Section 1-1-502. State flag.
Montana Secretary of State
Flag of Montana - Wikipedia