The Treaty of Versailles stated in Article 45 that the newly formed territory would be administered by the League of Nations for 15 years, and France was then granted the complete benefit of the Saar coal mines.

After the plebiscite of 1935, when the Saar Territory was unified with the German Empire again, the Reichsmark (ℛℳ) was immediately introduced.

After a referendum about the future status of the region, Saarland was incorporated into the Federal Republic of Germany as a Bundesland on 1 January 1957.

On 29 June 1959 the federal ordinance "Verordnung zur Einführung der Deutschen Mark im Saarland"[3] stipulated that – with effect from 6 July (§ 1) – all debts, credits, deposits, wages, rents, fees, interest servicing, or amortisation payments, and other obligations, as well as cash reserves and prices denominated in francs were to be converted at the rate of 100 francs = 0.8507 Deutsche Mark (§ 2).

Coins of 10, 20 and 50 francs depicted a factory and mining tower, with the coat of arms of the Saar Protectorate in front of them.