Great Dane

Nice collection ? Do you know if the 2nd class (with WD) was manufactured by others than Rothe & Neffe? The one you show is the design I always see, but I have one that is slightly different (the bow and the wreath)... I don't think it has any hallmarks, but I can double-check...

GGSD is the "Gamle Georg Stage Drenge" ("old Georg Stage boys") association. Instituted on November 29th, 1937. It's an association for former officers and crew from the Georg Stage training (sailing) ship. An unofficial medal of course... The association might still exist (I'm not sure).

Here is the 1992 Silver Jubilee medal

Jacob only mentions that Zimmermann made Romanian and Bulgarian orders since the 1930s. He doesn't really specify - depending on how you read it - when the company started.

Great start on a collection ? That Hamburg Hanseatic Cross was the first medal I ever bought... at a flea market wa-a-a-a-ay before the Internet was invented... Moved to other collecting pastures since, but sweet memories... ?

I can add some dates: Denmark, Order of Dannebrog (Grand Cross): 26. April 1954 Iceland, Order of the Falcon (Grand Cross): 15. May 1963

I'm leaning more towards Hugh's suggestion... You often see people wearing Commander's Crosses or Grand Crosses as full size decorations and then a miniature bar with 'the rest', including higher classes of foreign orders as seen here. The royal household bars I've seen (from various countries) would normally not have Commander or Grand Cross classes of foreign orders, but would have a lot of 'court medals' (in bronze, silver or gold depending on the seniority).

Which part of it? I read "Rudi Lothar..." in the top right.

Werner?

Others are much more knowledgeable when it comes to German decorations, but as far as I can make out, they are: Eisernes Kreuz 2. klasse 1914 Hindenburgkreuz (for non-combatants) Verdienstkreuz Kriegshilfsdienst 1916 Kolonial Denkmünze (with bar) Long service decoration Long service decoration Kaiser Wilhelm I. Erinnerungsmedaille 1897 Whether the above combo is naval is for others to decide, but I doubt that the recipient would count as 'high ranking'...

The Griffin MG2b would be a 'Komtur' (neck cross). Impressive bar and impressive research!

Good piece. Since nobody else replied, I'll comment... I have never had to choose between the 2 paths described (restoring or leaving as is), but here is a somewhat related story that might cheer you up (as in being cheered up by hearing about something that is worse...) I like old cars... if I had the time and means I would gladly restore old cars as a hobby. Lacking both I revel in watching it on TV. BBC has a show - Wheeler Dealers - where 2 guys restore cars. Well, since the cars are not necessarily vintage it is often more repairing than restoring, but it's all done in good humor, explaining what they're doing and how details specific to this car was constructed and how it works etc. After each episode I feel I learned something. Great show! Then there is the... sigh... US variety. The - numerous - shows all claim to be restoring, but this is ALWAYS interpreted as slapping on some chrome, LED lights, metallic paint, big rims etc. All done without showing any actual work, but with loads of staged 'interpersonal drama', jumping high-fives and "That's so cool, dude" dialogue. It breaks my heart to see a beautiful - albeit worn and tired - old pickup truck being 'restored' into a pimp-mobile. So all this to say... be happy that you only have to deal with restoring or leaving as is... not, say, a chromed Adrian helmet...

Ah, I see... thanks for the correction ? Did you try to search for the recipient based on the bar alone or is that combination too generic?

I stand corrected... it had a 'Romanian vibe' to me. Thanks for the detailed explanation

I'm not convinced that the miniature chain belongs to the same man - too many inconsistencies... I know awards on the miniature chain could represent commander grade or higher, so wouldn't be on the bar, but why e.g. would the Italian order be without crown on the bar and with crown on the mini (two different periods)?

Romanian for sure... (at least that's my guess)

Dannebrog Commander awarded 16. Nov. 1924. Sword Commander awarded 1924.

I can identify the Danish Order of Dannebrog (Commander) and the Swedish Order of the Sword (Commander). The rest are a little blurry...

To me the color looks more like the Belgian Order of the Crown.

I think it says "Whether in possession..." - similar to the other header fields. That would also make more sense...

Ahh... you're right... I checked my own miniature (yes, I get the irony of not recognizing this as a miniature) and it has no markings at all.

To add to Lars' description, I don't think this is the actual decoration but a related emblem of some sort. The decoration is a multi-piece construction like shown here. There is normally a number on the reverse and the decoration has to be returned after the death of the recipient,

Ahh... I see... good explanation and drawing ? That actually solves a mystry of mine where a Commander cross had a ribbon too short to go around the neck and having button holes in each end.

Can anyone explain this paragraph (for wearing more than one Commander cross as a civilian): "Beim Civil wird nur ein Band um den Kragen gelegt; trägt man mehrere Orden, so werden diese an das oberste Band angeknöpft." I am familiar with the military version ("aus der Knopfreihe"), but how does it look in the civilian version? The gentleman pictured wearing Pour le Mérite and Johannitter seems to be wearing two ribbons, although it is hard to see....

An unofficial decoration for sure. The date commemorates the day when the Germans declared a military state of emergency and took over the government. The Danish army and navy was disarmed and dissolved. The Danish navy sunk its own fleet to avoid the ships being taken over by the Germans. One of the locations where shots were exchanged was in Nyborg.