DIWALI – 2019 1 oz SILVER MEDALLION – PERTH MINT

Diwali is the ancient Hindu ‘festival of lights’. Celebrated by millions of people in India and all around the world, the five-day festival represents new beginnings and the triumph of light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance. The annual event marks the beginning of the Hindu New Year in October or November, with the date changing in accordance with the Hindu lunar calendar.

Observed through domestic rituals of cleaning, renewal, gift-giving and decorating homes with lights and oil lamps called diyas, the festival is celebrated with elaborate family feasts and fireworks. Festival goers also take part in puja (prayers), often kneeling before Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity, to seek her divine blessing. A traditional form of art known as rangoli is frequently drawn in front of the entrance to a house or in a prayer room. Created using colored petals, flour, rice, sand or powders, this intricate design serves as a welcoming gesture for the gods and is believed to trap negative energy while attracting luck.

During Diwali Ganesha is also revered as the deity of intellect, the patron of arts and sciences, and remover of obstacles. He is worshiped with Lakshmi to welcome wisdom along with wealth.

The Diwali 1 oz Silver Medallion is struck by The Perth Mint from 1 oz of 99.99% pure silver and has an unlimited mintage.

The reverse of the medallion features a colored representation of Lakshmi and Ganesha sitting on lotus flowers against decorated panels. Lakshmi holds lotus flowers and is dropping coins from her palm into a bowl at her feet. Ganesha grasps a bowl of sweets, a lotus flower and a conch shell symbolizing victory. A rat offers the god a delicacy from the selection before him. The design includes the inscription ‘happy diwali’, the medallion’s weight and fineness and The Perth Mint’s traditional ‘P’ mint mark.

A rangoli pattern is depicted on the medallion’s obverse.