diff --git a/consensus/clique/clique.go b/consensus/clique/clique.go
index 61d4358b4..c62e180fa 100644
--- a/consensus/clique/clique.go
+++ b/consensus/clique/clique.go
@@ -434,12 +434,6 @@ func (c *Clique) VerifyUncles(chain consensus.ChainReader, block *types.Block) e
 	return nil
 }
 
-// VerifySeal implements consensus.Engine, checking whether the signature contained
-// in the header satisfies the consensus protocol requirements.
-func (c *Clique) VerifySeal(chain consensus.ChainHeaderReader, header *types.Header) error {
-	return c.verifySeal(chain, header, nil)
-}
-
 // verifySeal checks whether the signature contained in the header satisfies the
 // consensus protocol requirements. The method accepts an optional list of parent
 // headers that aren't yet part of the local blockchain to generate the snapshots
diff --git a/consensus/consensus.go b/consensus/consensus.go
index f7a4d0ff0..2a5aac945 100644
--- a/consensus/consensus.go
+++ b/consensus/consensus.go
@@ -77,10 +77,6 @@ type Engine interface {
 	// rules of a given engine.
 	VerifyUncles(chain ChainReader, block *types.Block) error
 
-	// VerifySeal checks whether the crypto seal on a header is valid according to
-	// the consensus rules of the given engine.
-	VerifySeal(chain ChainHeaderReader, header *types.Header) error
-
 	// Prepare initializes the consensus fields of a block header according to the
 	// rules of a particular engine. The changes are executed inline.
 	Prepare(chain ChainHeaderReader, header *types.Header) error
diff --git a/consensus/ethash/algorithm_test.go b/consensus/ethash/algorithm_test.go
index 51fb6b124..663687b81 100644
--- a/consensus/ethash/algorithm_test.go
+++ b/consensus/ethash/algorithm_test.go
@@ -731,7 +731,7 @@ func TestConcurrentDiskCacheGeneration(t *testing.T) {
 			defer pend.Done()
 			ethash := New(Config{cachedir, 0, 1, false, "", 0, 0, false, ModeNormal, nil}, nil, false)
 			defer ethash.Close()
-			if err := ethash.VerifySeal(nil, block.Header()); err != nil {
+			if err := ethash.verifySeal(nil, block.Header(), false); err != nil {
 				t.Errorf("proc %d: block verification failed: %v", idx, err)
 			}
 		}(i)
diff --git a/consensus/ethash/consensus.go b/consensus/ethash/consensus.go
index 1b801b253..011a5688e 100644
--- a/consensus/ethash/consensus.go
+++ b/consensus/ethash/consensus.go
@@ -288,7 +288,7 @@ func (ethash *Ethash) verifyHeader(chain consensus.ChainHeaderReader, header, pa
 	}
 	// Verify the engine specific seal securing the block
 	if seal {
-		if err := ethash.VerifySeal(chain, header); err != nil {
+		if err := ethash.verifySeal(chain, header, false); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
 	}
@@ -488,12 +488,6 @@ var FrontierDifficultyCalulator = calcDifficultyFrontier
 var HomesteadDifficultyCalulator = calcDifficultyHomestead
 var DynamicDifficultyCalculator = makeDifficultyCalculator
 
-// VerifySeal implements consensus.Engine, checking whether the given block satisfies
-// the PoW difficulty requirements.
-func (ethash *Ethash) VerifySeal(chain consensus.ChainHeaderReader, header *types.Header) error {
-	return ethash.verifySeal(chain, header, false)
-}
-
 // verifySeal checks whether a block satisfies the PoW difficulty requirements,
 // either using the usual ethash cache for it, or alternatively using a full DAG
 // to make remote mining fast.
diff --git a/consensus/ethash/ethash_test.go b/consensus/ethash/ethash_test.go
index adbf1ccfe..2639707eb 100644
--- a/consensus/ethash/ethash_test.go
+++ b/consensus/ethash/ethash_test.go
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ func TestTestMode(t *testing.T) {
 	case block := <-results:
 		header.Nonce = types.EncodeNonce(block.Nonce())
 		header.MixDigest = block.MixDigest()
-		if err := ethash.VerifySeal(nil, header); err != nil {
+		if err := ethash.verifySeal(nil, header, false); err != nil {
 			t.Fatalf("unexpected verification error: %v", err)
 		}
 	case <-time.NewTimer(4 * time.Second).C:
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ func verifyTest(wg *sync.WaitGroup, e *Ethash, workerIndex, epochs int) {
 			block = 0
 		}
 		header := &types.Header{Number: big.NewInt(block), Difficulty: big.NewInt(100)}
-		e.VerifySeal(nil, header)
+		e.verifySeal(nil, header, false)
 	}
 }