The Saar mark was a currency issued on 16 June 1947 by the
French government for use in
Saar
Saar or SAAR has several meanings:
People Given name
*Saar Boubacar (born 1951), Senegalese professional football player
* Saar Ganor, Israeli archaeologist
*Saar Klein (born 1967), American film editor
Surname
* Ain Saar (born 1968), Est ...
. It was at par with the
German Reichsmark
The (; sign: ℛℳ; abbreviation: RM) was the currency of Germany from 1924 until 20 June 1948 in West Germany, where it was replaced with the , and until 23 June 1948 in East Germany, where it was replaced by the East German mark. The Reichs ...
, 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.
However, the Saar mark notes were soon replaced following the integration of the Saar into the French currency area. The
Saar franc
The Saar franc was the French franc (german: Franken) used as the official currency of the Saar during the times that the Saar territory was economically split off from Germany, in 1920–1935 as the Territory of the Saar Basin, in 1947–1957 as t ...
was the currency of the Saar Protectorate and, later, the state of Saarland in the Federal Republic of Germany between 20 November 1947 and 6 July 1959. It was valued at par with the French franc, and French coins and banknotes circulated alongside local issues.
History
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. The Saar Mark began circulating on 16 June.
The end of the Saar mark and its replacement by the
French franc
The franc (, ; sign: F or Fr), also commonly distinguished as the (FF), was a currency of France. Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amount of money. It w ...
was enterined by a law of the French Parliament on 15 November 1947.
References
General references
Die SAAR-MARK-Scheine(In German)
Notes
External links
*
{{Portal bar, Europe, Money, Numismatics
Modern obsolete currencies
Currencies of Germany
History of Saarland
Currencies introduced in 1947
1947 disestablishments
1940s economic history
1947 in France
1947 in Germany