A more thorough explanation:

A sealed instrument is a legal document that has a personal seal affixed by the bound party. This seal is recognized as providing indisputable evidence of the validity of the underlying obligations. In the past, the seal was used to make documents indisputable as to the terms of the underlying obligation, thereby dispensing with the necessity of witnesses. The sealed instrument was considered such reliable evidence that it actually became the contract itself, called a "specialty."

However, the common-law distinction between sealed and unsealed instruments has been abolished by many states, and the UCC provides that the laws applicable to sealed instruments do not apply to contracts for the sale of goods or negotiable instruments. This means that the seal is no longer necessary to make a contract legally binding.

For example, a person may sign a contract to purchase a car and affix their personal seal to the document. In the past, this seal would have made the contract indisputable, but today, the contract is legally binding regardless of whether or not a seal is present.

In states where the seal is still recognized, its primary legal significance is often the application of a longer statute of limitations to actions on sealed instruments. This means that the time limit for taking legal action on a sealed instrument is longer than for an unsealed instrument.

Overall, while the use of seals in legal documents has declined over time, they still hold some legal significance in certain jurisdictions.