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

FIRM #	FIRM	LOCATION
1	Deschler &Sohn	Munchen
2	C.E. Junker	Berlin
3	Wilheim Deumer	Ludenscheld
4	Steinhauer & Luck	Ludenscheld
5	Hermann Wernstein	Jena-Lobstedt
6	Fritz Zimmermann	Stuttgart
7	Paul Meyhauer	Berlin
8	Ferdinand Hoffstadter	Bonn a. Rhein
9	Liefergsmeinschaft Scmuckhandwerker	Pforzheim
10	Foerster & Barth	Pforzheim
11	Grossmann & Co.	Wien
12	Frank & Reif	Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen
13	Gustav Brehmer	Markneukirchen/Sa
14	L. Chr. Lauer	Nurnberg-W
15	Friedrich Orth	Wien
16	Alols Rettenmaler	Scwablsch-Gmund
17	(Unknown)
18	Karl Wurster K.G.	Markneukirchen/Sa
19	E. Ferd Weidmann	Frankfurt/Main
20	C.F. Zimmermann	Pforzheim
21	Gebr. Godet & Co.	Berlin
22	Boerger & Co.	Berlin
23	Arbeitsgemeinschaft fur Heereshedarf	darf In der Graveur-u. Ziseleurinnung
24	Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Hanauer	Plaket-ten-hersteller
25	Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Graveur-Gold-und	Silberschemiede-Innungen
26	B. H. Mayer's Kunst-prageanstalt	Pforzheim
27	Anton Schenkl's Nachf.	Wien
28	Eugen Schmidthaussier	Pforzheim
29	Hauptmunzamt	Berlin
30	Hauptmunzamt	Wien
31	Hans Gnad	Wien
32	W. Hobachter	Wien
33	Friedrich Linden	Ludenscheld
34	Willy Annetsberger	Munchen
35	F.W. Assmann & Sohn	Ludenscheld
36	Bury & Leonhard	Hanau a. M
37	Ad. Baumeister	Ludenscheld
38	(Unknown)
39	Rudolf Berge	Gablonz a.d.N.
40	Berg & Nolte	Ludenscheld
41	Geb. Bender	Oberstein/Nahe
42	Biedermann & Co.	Oberkassel b/Bonn
43	Julius Bauer Sohne	Zella Mehlisi/Thur.
44	Jakob Bengel	Idar/Oberdonau
45	Franz Jungwirth	Wien
46	Hans Doppler	Wels/Oberdonau
47	Erhard & Sohne A.G.	Schwabisch Gmund
48	Richard Feix	Gablonz a.d.N.
49	Josef Feix Sohne	Gablonz a.d.N.
50	Karl Gschiermeister	Wien
51	Eduard Goriach & Sohne	Gablonz/N.
52	Gottlieb & Wagner	Ldar/Oberstein
53	Glaser & Sohne	Dresden
54	(Unknown)
55	J.E. Hammer & Sohne	Geringswalde
56	Robert Hauschild	Pforzheim
57	Karl Hensler	Pforzheim
58	Artur Jakel & Co.	Gablonz/N.
59	Louis Keller	Oberstein
60	Katz & Deyhle	Pforzheim
61	Rudolf A. Karneth & Sohne	Gablonz a.N.
62	Kerbach & Oesterhelt	Dresden
63	Franz Klast & Sohne	Gablonz a.N.
64	Gottl. Fr. Keck & Sohn	Pforzheim
65	Klein & Quenzer A.G.	Idar/Oberstein
66	Freidrich Keller	Oberstein
67	H. Krelsel	Gablonz a.N.
68	Alfred Knobloch	Gablonz a.N.
69	Alols Klammer	Innsbruck
70	Lind & Meyrer	Oberstein a.d.N.
71	Rudolf Leukert	Oberstein a.d.N.
72	Franz Lipp	Pforzheim
73	Frank Manert	Gablonz a.N.
74	Carl Maurer Sohn	Oberstein/Nahe
75	(Unknown)
76	Ernst L. Muller	Pforzheim
77	Bayer. Hauptmunzamt	Munchen
78	Gustav Miksch	Gablonz/N.
79	(Unknown)
80	G.H. Osang	Dresden
81	Overhoff & Cle	Ludenscheid
82	Augustin Prager	Gablonz a.N.
83	Emll Peukert	Gablonz a.N.
84	Carl Poellath	Schrobenhausen
85	Julius Pletsch	Gablonz/N.
86	Paulmann & Crone	Ludenscheid
87	Roman Palme	Gablonz a.N.
88	Werner Redo	Saarlautern
89	Rudolf Richter	Schlag 244 b. Gablonz
90	Aug. F. Richter K.G.	Hamburg
91	Josef Rossler & Co.	Gablonz a.d.N.
92	Josef Rucker & Sohn	Gablonz a.d.N.
93	Richard Simm & Sohne	Gablonz a.d.N.
94	(Unknown)
95	Adolf Scholze	Grunwald a.d.N.
96	(Unknown)
97	(Unknown)
98	Rudolf Souval	Wien
99	Schwertner & Cle.	Eggenberg
100	Rudolf Wachtler & Lange	Mittweida
101	Rudolf Tam	Gablonz a.d.N.
102	Philipp Turks Ww.	Wien
103	Aug. G. Tam	Gablonz a.d.N.
104	Hein. Ulbricht's Ww.	Kaufing b/Schwanenstadt
105	Heinrich Vogt	Pforzheim
106	Bruder Schneider A.G.	Wien
107	Carl Wild	Hamburg
108	Arno Wallpach	Salzburg
109	Walter & Hentein	Gablonz a.d.N.
110	Otto Zappe	Gablonz a.d.N.
111	Ziemer & Sohne	Oberstein
112	Argentor Werke Rust & Hetzel	Wien
113	Hermann Aurich	Dresden
114	Ludwig Bertsch	Karlsruhe
115	(Unknown)
116	Frunke & Brunninghaus	Ludenscheld
117	Hugo Lang	Wiesenthal a.N.
118	August Menzs & Sohn	Wien
119	(Unknown)
120	Franz Petzl	Wien
121	(Unknown)
122	JJ. Stahl	Strassburg
123	Beck, Hassinger & Co.	Strassburg
124	Rudolf Schanes	Wien
125	Eugen Gauss	Pforzheim
126	Eduard Hahn	Oberstein/Nahe
127	Moritz Hausch A.G.	Pforzheim
128	S. Jablonski G.m.b.H.	Posen
129	Fritz Kohm	Pforzheim
130	Wilh. Schroder & Co.	Ludenscheld
131	Heinrich Wander	Gablonz
132	Franz Reischauer	Oberstein
133	(Unknown)
134	Otto Klein & Co.	Hanau
135	Julius Moser sen	Oberstein