On the special notes & coins, Bapu shares space with Lord Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi.
On special days such as Dhanteras, Amdavadis have traditionally gifted their friends and family members, bars and coins of gold or silver with images of Lord Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi engraved on them.
This year, however, these old favourites bear a new look, thanks to jewellers who have redesigned the bars and coins in new shapes and with new images.
The new coins and bars are already available in the market in the range of 5 gm to 100 gm. The business in coins is likely to be brisk during Diwali, with city traders expecting sales worth Rs6 crore to Rs10 crore in Ahmedabad city alone. “We had no option but to give the coins and bars a new design as public taste has changed,” said Ghanshyam Soni, a leading jeweller of the city known for his silver coins, bars and medals. “People who love silver have been demanding more stylish coins. They say they are fed up with the usual circular and rectangular pattern.”
He further said he expected very high demand this Diwali for silver bars redesigned to resemble currency notes of Rs50, Rs100, Rs500 and Rs1,000 denomination. “We came up with this design because people perform puja of silver coins (which symbolise wealth) during Dhanteras,” he said.
Silver bars redesigned to resemble currency notes also bear images of Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesha. Strangely, even Mahatma Gandhi figures on some bars. Then there is the silver bar that looks like a dollar note; there is great demand for the silver dollar, too.
Apart from silver and gold bars redesigned to resemble currency notes, coins in the Ganga-Jamna style bearing images of different gods, goddesses and Queen Victoria and the sacred Kalash are also very popular among city people. (Coins and bars designed in the ‘Ganga-Jamna style’ have a gold base which supports the redesigned silver bar or coin.)
These redesigned coins and bars are very popular this year as gifts to give on auspicious occasions such as gurupushya nakshatra day and even on birthdays. “We have customers who have placed bulk orders for these redesigned coins and bars,” said Hiren Soni, owner of Rajeshwari Jewellers. “They say they want to give them away as gifts during auspicious functions.”
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