Help identify this pin, please
 

:(

It's the Delta Gamma coat of arms. Your brother really should not wear that since only members of DG wear the COA or the badge of DG.

yes, coat of arms...
 

but what was the purpose of the pin? Was it a sweetheart pin? ???
And, tell my brother what to do? Ha! I am trying to get him to send it to me so I can add it to the collection on my stole.

Thanks!

Not a sweetheart pin. Only initiated Delta Gammas are allowed to wear the crest (we don't call it a coat of arms). It oculd have been a lapel or hat pin of some sort. But please, he should not be wearing it....and neither should you be wearing it or a Delta Gamma anchor badge.

I am NOT wearing any pins that are not mine. I have a graduation stole that I wore at my graduation. It hangs on my mirror. It has all my family members pins. GM, GF, mom, dad. mine. We are trying to figure out what this pin was. And you know what? I can rest my head nicely on my pillow allowing my brother with Multiple Sclerosis who loved the world out of my sweet grandmother to wear her sorority crest as a DG as as tie tac if that makes him smile and remember her! If someone mistakes him for a Delta Gamma...their prob! Oy! :confused:

Many GLOs had various non-official pieces of jewelry made with their crests ( sorry Titchou, we don't have one at all, so what do I know ;) ) and Coats of arms on them. If you want to come to GC and ask for help about a piece of jewelry related to a GLO, don't get upset if you are told something you don't like, even though the rules don't change for your brother with multiple sclerosis. I'm sure there are many ways that your brother can remember his beloved grandmother without breaking the rules of the organization that obviously meant so much to her. It's not that others may think he is a DG, but that he is wearing an emblem that means nothing to him that meant so much to your grandmother and all of her DG sisters. If you have a problem with that, just scurry away from GC...we didn't ask to hear about your pin, your brother or your grandmother. We just told you the way things are done. If you don't like it, keep it to yourself.

and I did say "please."

You did. ;)

Thank you!

I know the op's brother isn't a Delta Gamma, but do we know if the op is one or not?

If she was a DG, I would hope she would know what her coat of arms looks like!

I assume it's a lapel pin that for a Delta Gamma to wear on...her lapel. (What a concept.)

The OP said her "greek pin" is on her graduation stole. Is that just for safekeeping? (My badge is in my jewelry box.)

The OP is an Alpha Xi Delta.

She said that she knew it was the crest but didn't know what the purpose of it was, so that's why I asked. I could own an old pin shaped like the Kappa coat of arms and not know the original intended purpose of it.

However, I don't understand why if she's an Alpha Xi she would want to wear any other organization's badge, regardless of who the original owner may have been. My mom is a Kappa Delta. I am a Kappa. I love my mother. I love Kappa. I wouldn't want to wear her KD badge. It's possible to honor family and fraternity.

She doesn't want to wear it. She has already graduated, and keeps her family's pins on her graduation stole, which is hanging from her mirror. It'd be more appropriate to say that she is displaying her family's pins.

They would be lovely - and better protected -in a shadow box with a tarnish resistant cloth as background. Grandmother's crest pin could be there with the rest of the family to be remembered by one and all. JMHO.

eta - Ye gods, what in the world does multiple sclerosis have to do with it?

Yay! WhiteRose wins! So sorry for all the drama. I thought the original ? was clear, but I guess not. I just wondered what this DG pin was for. It is obviously now almost 100 years old. My GM is long gone and I can't ask her, thus I ask the next best wise source, GreekChat! :)

SWTX Belle, I am not going to bust my brother's chops over his wearing this pin, not the regular DG initiation pin, but the crest on black onyx rectangle, as a tie tac. He has MS and his life is hard. If this makes him happy, fine. I am sure there are many dissenting opinions about the correctness of this, including my own, but sometimes I believe the concept is larger than the rule. I am glad he is happy in the memory of my GM's college/sorority life, as am I.

Swarmina: Getting back to the original question, I think that MIGHT be a scarf pin of some sort. As pointed out earlier, it might also be a lapel pin, but I do remember one of my great aunts having a similar pin (not with the DG or any other crest, but with some art deco type design) that she used as a scarf pin.

what's an OP? I am feeling objectified! ;)

I have searched in vain for a post requesting that you "bust his chops". I am sorry for his medical condition. Whether or not it him wearing it is correct is not a subjective question - it is determined by the organization that owns the crest. I knew what you were inferring - my point is that there is no logic in throwing his medical condition into the discussion. It is not relevant. There is, to the best of my knowledge, no medical exemption to copyright or other laws.

Officer - I have pulled you over because you are speeding.
Speeder - But officer! I have multiple sclerosis and my life is hard!
Officer - Oh, well in that case, never mind.

I would hope that his memories of his grandmother are not dependent on one piece of jewelery, or that if he chose not to wear it he would somehow be dishonoring her. There are no crest police who are going to break in and arrest him, even though the design is copyrighted. It is still an objective fact that by wearing it he is flouting the very organization that apparently meant so much to his grandmother.

Original Poster

And while I understand that he and you think he is honoring his grandmother, as a Delta Gamma I can assure he is not. I am not trying to "bust his chops" but rather request politely that he not dishonor my and your GM's organization by wearing something which he has no right to wear. You could simply say to him - you know, Joey, I found out that only initiated members of DG are allowed to wear their badge or crest. What's some other way we could display this item?"

As much as my late father's membership in ATO is a source of pride, I would never presume to wear their badge or crest as a way to honor him. There are other ways I can do that without violating their regulations.

Having a hard life or a difficult medical diagnosis doesn't give you carte blanche to do whatever you'd like. Don't I wish it did. ;) I'm sorry your brother has been ill, but breaking the traditions of your grandmother's sorority doesn't honor her. I'm sure he thinks the pin is for a man since it does have some masculine appeal, but that was the style in the early 1900s when bar pins and other crest/ COA jewelry abounded. AOII's own president's ring has a similar appearance.

I'd be willing to bet dollars to doughnuts that DG has a policy regarding badge disposition upon a member's death, which doesn't include being displayed by a nonmember. Our rules are that the badge gets buried with the deceased or returned to HQ. Titchou can correct me if DG doesn't have something similar in place.

If this is the case, displaying it isn't the thing to do, either.

He went last night after I spoke with him and buried it at her grave in Denver. Sorry for the offense. Problem resolved. Thanks everyone.

DG does not have a policy beyond what I've stated. Any Fraternity badge or crest that a member or member's family may want to dispose of should be sent to Executive Offices. Otherwise, a display is fine. It's just not appropriate to wear it if one is not a member. I have a personal opinion about what the OP's brother has done with it and it will remain that - personal.

And BTW, my will lays out what should be done with my 2 DG badges.

:confused:

MS doesn't affect your brain and the part of you that can distinguish which is right or wrong, except in the very late stages, which if your brother was to that point I doubt he would be wearing a tie let alone a tie tack.

You do people with conditions such as MS NO sympathy by excusing behavior from them that would not be acceptable from others. As a matter of fact, it's pretty damned offensive. You're turning him into a condition to be pitied instead of a person.

And yes, I DO know what I'm talking about and I HAVE been through this with a family member.

I highly doubt he buried the pin, but as I stated earlier, if you don't like the advice given, stop talking about what you and your brother are doing with another organization's pins.

Good Lordy, I love you all! There is no more problem. The pin is with my GM. I have also contacted DG's headquarters about this and they are aware of the entire situation and there is not a problem. For what it is worth, NO ONE in my family did anything unethical and had/have the most honorable of intentions. NOR did I attempt to excuse any wrongful behavior by discussing his MS. I am utterly stunned at the accusations implied in some of these posts. I will not do the same. Thanks everyone who was helpful in my initial request to help me identify what the purpose of this DG crest pin that belongs TO MY FAMILY.

Why did you contact DG's headquarters? Did you call them up and say, 'Hey, my brother has been wearing a pin with DG's crest on it. He's buried it with our DG grandmother now. We're cool, right?' I really can't imagine why you felt the need to call them (and further, to share the fact that you called with GC). Very interesting. Very odd.

And regarding your comment about not excusing any wrongful behavior by mentioning his MS... well, that's debatable. You may not have intended for your posts to come across as excusing poor judgment, but that's kinda what they did. Especially when considering what's underlined below.

Delta Gamma Headquarters
 

I do not want a non-DG leading others to think that the policy at DG is anything other than the official one. According to Alison at HQ, quoting from the Policy manual - Offical Policy - Fraternity Crest on Gifts - "Any initiated member may give novelties, favors and decorations bearing the fraternity crest to other initiated members." n.b. NOT to non-initiated members.

IBTL!

I can't tell you what this innocent error or whatever has hatched in some of you. I have planned to keep all my family pins together on my stole, forever. I would never wear one but my own, and I think I can understand the spirit of this discussion, but some of you people have said some truly ugly and hideous things. I tried to locate a moderator to just pull off the post, but the mods for this forum have been off GreekChat for some time. I tried to delete it, but the msgs where people quoted still remain. I also have been in contact with DG headquarters by email, FB, and just now by phone. I have been informed thus far that it is not imperative to return a deceased member's pin/crest jewelry, but now that I have been called a LIAR, I want to talk to someone willing to have me post their name and to have a firm knowledge of what DG desires of the pieces. People calling me a liar, people accusing me of bringing up my brother's disability as an excuse, holy cow. GET A LIFE people! I mean, I am a Neonatal Intensive Care Nurse. People have babies that die, that have horrible problems, babies that need emergency surgery sometimes when they are as tiny as baby birds, moms that die in childbirth, babies hospitalized for months-years sometimes. Is this pin issue really worth all this energy... all this negative, nasty energy? I mean, go feed some orphans or something people!
I am utterly flabbergasted at what began as a request for help identifying what exactly this crest pin was has turned into this. My brother wore the pin as a gesture of love toward a woman who met a great deal to him. He is not Greek, so he has no knowledge of any rules about this. I knew nothing of his even having anything of the sort in his possession until he visited me last week and we were sharing old photos and mementos/memories.
Honestly, a Greek cherishing loved ones mementos of their Greek common histories is something that has made my commitment and love for my own sorority even stronger. It has led to me sharing that same feeling with my two growing girls, hopeful future Greek geeks like I was. But this has shown me the balance of the sad fact that there is kind of a dark, exclusivity, mean side to some people who are also attracted to Greek organizations. Was there not a kinder, better way to have communicated any of this?
I had just started to enjoy this forum, posted old photos that I took time to find just to share the enjoyment with others. Actually got excited about some old memories and looked forward to sharing love of all things Greek on here. Crap...ran into some people who seem to be quite a piece of work. From what I have been able to ascertain thus far, I have made no errors or mistakes in my holding on, handling of the ones that I have from four separate GLO's. I leave this post in good conscience that nothing was done wrongly. Not everyone who participated in this lively discussion can say the same.
Now back off...cease & desist. NOTHING more can be gained from this discussion, so move on.

I suggest you contact the Delta Gamma Fraternity Vice President:Alumnae, Mary Anne Lachenmaier, at vpalumnae@deltagamma.org for any questions you have about what to do with badges, pins, crest items, etc. I am certain she can give you definitive answers.

You can find her information and all Fraternity officers on our web site. See the tab "About Us" and click on Our Council. You're welcome.

Was that a flounce?

Please tell me you didn't call on account of the OP.

I never flounce!

Not you, Shwarmina.

To the best of my knowledge and review of the thread no one had a problem with keeping the pin on display (certainly I didn't - I suggested a shadow box) in memory of the grandmother. The issue was the brother wearing it. Had the op said simply "Oh, I didn't know that was the policy" there would have been no problem. As far as I am concerned the problem is that she played the handicapped card and stated that she had permission from headquarters. The defensiveness was triggered the wrecking of the thread.

I called because there was nothing on the public DG site, and I wanted to verify the official policy. I have no patience with those who don't do research before posting about an org's policies. (FYI - the policies are apparently on the myDG section of the website for any DGs who want to do any checking).

I do apologize for calling the op a liar. I will delete those posts. PiKA, would you please edit your quoting so that the offending posts are lost to the winds of time.

Wow. Drama. Dying babies, feeding starving children? Really?