UK Royal Mint releases Goddess Lakshmi Gold Bar for sale

The UK Royal Mint's first bullion bar range featuring Goddess Lakshmi as a celebration of Diwali went on sale on Tuesday. The "Lakshmi" bar, a 20 gram gold bar with the Hindu Goddess of Wealth engraved intricately into the precious metal, was designed by Royal Mint designer Emma Noble and follows a close collaboration with the Shree Swaminarayan Temple in Cardiff on its intricate design.

The bar, retailing at 1,080 pounds, is described by the Royal Mint as reflective of its ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion and an expansion of diverse cultural celebrations in the country. "With gold being a traditional and auspicious gift during the Diwali festival, we wanted to develop a product that incorporates both beauty and tradition, but with a modern twist," said Andrew Dickey, Divisional Director for Precious Metals at the Royal Mint."The bar is a shining example of this and we were delighted to work with Nilesh Kabaria of the Shree Swaminarayan Temple in Cardiff to ensure that we represent the Hindu Goddess of Wealth accurately and appropriately," he said.

The Royal Mint says the inspiration came from Goddess Lakshmi's important role in Hindu culture and her iconography used on auspicious gifts used to celebrate special occasions such as weddings and births. The bar features an Om symbol on its gift packaging and follows the success of the Mint’s 1 gram and 5 gram gold bars in henna-inspired packaging launched last year. The bar represents Goddess Lakshmi with her four arms symbolic of the four goals of humanity that are considered good in Hinduism – dharma, artha, kama and moksha.