Norwegian Bank Note - Loan for Immigrant to U.S. - 1913
Example of a Norwegian Bank Note from Spareskillingsbanken Trondhjem dated 24 May 1913 that was used to fund the expense of traveling from Norway to the United States by a Norwegian Immigrant.
The under-class citizens of Norway often had help from relatives in Norway or the United States to help pay for the Passage to the U.S. Saving up the equivalent of about 3 months' wages for an common laborer would have seemed like a daunting task.
Note Payable dated 29.05.1913 for Kr.300 (approximately US$ 50) that Ludvig Kristian Gjønvik received from Ludvik Troseth and Anna Haarstad, relatives in Trondhjem, who helped him. Ludvig purchased the steamship ticket from Trondhjem to Boston with the proceeds. The note was payable in 4 months (29.09.1913) with no stated interest. According to Arvid Gjønvik, the note was repaid as agreed.
$50.00 from 1913 is worth approximately $1,079.91 in 2007 using the Consumer Price Index Samuel H. Williamson, "Five Ways to Compute the Relative Value of a U.S. Dollar Amount, 1790 to Present," MeasuringWorth, 2008.
Copy of front (above) and back side (at right) of note payable Spareskillingsbanken, Trondhjem, Norway. The Troseths who advanced Ludvig the funds (signed for the bank loan) in order for him to immigrate to the United States.
