The medallion was gold and blue on the front, and in the middle were the golden initials of king Frederick I and a crown – on the back was a golden crown, on red.

With the changes of 1890, the swords were only granted in awards of a higher class.

The grand-cross was a silver 8-pointed star in whose middle was a reduced cross in a medallion with a circular motto in the centre.

Members of reigning houses received insignia of the grand-cross with a ribbon in scarlet.

Many awards were made – in the First World War alone, the numbers were: As an extraordinary instance, the grand-cross "in Brillanten" was granted to Reichskanzler Otto von Bismarck in 1871.