The Saar mark was a currency issued on 16 June 1947 by the French government for use in Saar. 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.