Phi Beta Delta Honor Society

For International Scholars

Wearing the Medallion

When the Medallion is worn, the orders and decorations of sovereign states take precedence. When it is worn along with the insignia of other societies, then the precedence is generally decided on the basis of the age of the society.

For example, Phi Beta Kappa because of its eighteenth century origins take precedence over all other honor societies. Many groups or clusters of associations have tables of precedence, so to determine the correct precedence of one's non governmental decorations requires checking a variety of tables for hereditary-genealogical, scientific and scholarly societies. This is not a much work as it seems because most of us are not entitled to wear more than a few, and once we have checked then that is the end of the matter. The general rule is that decorations of non governmental organizations are worn according to date of founding. An exception is when performing official duties, when then the insignia of the office being performed would have precedence.

These precedence tables are easy to understand. For example, here is a list of the orders in the United States of generally recognized American hereditary groups:

Hence the Phi Beta Delta Medallion takes precedence over insignia of The National Society Sons and Daughters of Antebellum Planters or the Dames of Colonial Cavaliers but not over the National Society of the Descendants of the Signers of the Constitution.