20 Rigsdaler / 20 Kroner - Christian V Thormøhlen notes

These notes are among the earliest paper money ever issued in Scandinavia, predating the establishment of any formal Norwegian central bank by well over a century. They were produced under the authority of the Bergen merchant and financier Jørgen Thormøhlen, who had obtained a royal privilege from Christian V to issue banknotes — an extraordinarily unusual arrangement that effectively delegated monetary emission to a private individual rather than a crown institution.

Thormøhlen's financial empire collapsed in 1700, and the notes became worthless. Surviving examples are extraordinarily rare, and those retaining their original wax seal intact are rarer still.