Collector's Tools Wehrmacht-Awards

 

Prior to and during World War II, Germany contracted privately owned “Court Jewelers” for the manufacturing of awards, decorations and orders (as opposed to most countries that used government used mints). At the onset of war, these firms operated under a lenient system which permitted them to make several variations of awards, such as the “Convex” Iron Cross, and even allowed other jewelers which were not under government contract to reproduce awards for private purchase by recipients. Faced with the chaos of having its decorations liberally distributed, the Government intervened, and in 1941 outlawed the private purchase of awards from non-licensed dealers. From that point on, all recipients that wished to purchase duplicate copies had to do so through a government authorized firm. The laws also placed specific guidelines by which all decorations were to be constructed, and the production of non-standard awards was severely curved. Therefore, a majority of the variations that are encountered in awards today come from those manufactured early on in the war. From 1941 onward, regularization was the norm, or at least the goal, in the world of Third Reich decorations.

The LDO, (Leistungs Gemeinschaft der Deutscher Ordenshersteller, Administration of German orders Manufacturers), was a self-governing organization formed in 1941 which regulated the manufacturing of all German awards. This organization and its members, through decrees which came directly from the Fuhrer’s office, tightly supervised the dimensions, materials and construction methods used to create the medals that would decorate Germany’s soldiers. It was also an information source, and construction methods were discussed and shared among firms. All members of this organization were issued a number, an “LDO number” or Prasidialkanzlei (Arabic) number , which was supposed to be stamped on all awards produced by these firms. In reality this particular regulation was not tightly enforced, and a great number of awards were produced with no mark all. It has been stated that the numbers that identified the firms changed on a regular basis, when, in reality, this was not the case. Some firms do have two numbers, one which is prefixed by an “L” and a Prasidialkanzlei one, but these did not change during the war. One explanation put forth for this is that the “L” prefixed to a number was used for privately purchased pieces, where the Prasidialkanzlei number was used for award pieces.

The presence or absence of a manufacturer’s mark does in no way determine the originality of a piece, as these have been copied extensively. They do help, however, in cases where the manufacturer mark is blurry, or where the same number has been copied so much that a collector is weary of it, as is the case with the L/16 in the Spange to the Iron Cross 2nd Class 1914.

Below is a list of the Prasidialkanzlei and LDO numbers with the firms that they represent. Depending on the particular award, this number is found on the ribbon loop, pin, or stamped on the back. This list will be updated as new information comes to light, and as always, if you find an omission or mistake please send me an e-mail.

Prasidialkanzlei Numbers

LDO Numbers; Fully Licensed Firms

LDO Numbers; Partially Licensed Firms

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