It was at par with the German Reichsmark, and composed of six denominations of banknotes, 1, 2, 5, 10, 50 and 100 mark.

The aim of its introduction was to prepare an economic union of the Saar with France.

In addition, the exchange enabled the French administration to get an overview of the total amount of capital available in the Saar region.

It also served to prevent speculative capital transfers between the Saar and the rest of Germany in view of the introduction of the franc.

The French Government issued on 5 June 1947 a decree creating an economic mission under the authority of the Military Governor whose task was to manage economic problems in Saarland.