London: As the British-Indian diaspora gear up to buy gold on the auspicious occasion of Dhanteras, the UK’s Royal Mint has launched its first ever gold bullion bar to celebrate Diwali, reports The Times of India.

The bar is engraved with an image of the Hindu goddess Lakshmi. The Lakshmi bar — which contains 20g of 999.9 fine gold with Lakshmi engraved into the precious metal — has been designed by Royal Mint product designer Emma Noble, through close collaboration with the Shree Swaminarayan Temple in Cardiff to ensure cultural accuracy.

The bar retails at £1,080 ( 1 lakh) and will go on sale at 9 am UK time on Tuesday on the Royal Mint website. The bar, the Royal Mint’s first ever bar featuring a Hindu deity or Indian design, follows the success of henna-inspired packaging launched for 1g and 5g regular gold bars last year.

Th bar will be blessed at the Shree Swaminarayan Temple’s Diwali ceremony as part of Lakshmi Pooja on November 4, with Royal Mint officials in attendance.