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An employee picks up a gold bar at the Austrian Gold and Silver Separating Plant 'Oegussa' in Vienna August 26, 2011. Oegussa processes some 100 tons of various precious metals and generates a turnover of 300 million euros a year. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

People who have been wanting to buy even a single bar of silver or gold may now go to Royal Mint. The manufacturer of the coins of the United Kingdom has gone online and now sells safe haven bars directly to the public for the first time. What’s more, the bars can be acquired and purchased VAT-free.

Imprinted "RMR," which means Royal Mint Refinery, the bars will be sold depending on the price at the time the precious metals were purchased. The gold bars are available from 1g to 100g, the silver minted bars come in 100g units. At present rates, a 1g gold bar could cost around £40 (AU$75), while 100g could be around £2,800. The 100g bar of fine silver costs £71. Each bar has a unique serial number.

The Royal Mint Refinery, according to the Daily Mail, dates back to 1852. It operated in London for more than 100 years. It survived the First and Second World Wars before it stopped production at the end of the 1960s.

The Mint said the RMR will most likely be bought by people looking for a “cost-effective” way to buy bullion. Being VAT-free, citizens, primarily in UK, will be given up to 45 percent tax relief on their purchase of gold RMR bars if they are bought through their pension scheme.

Lisa Elward, the Royal Mint's head of international sales and bullion, said the RMR silver and gold bars can be purchased directly through royalmintbullion.com. Launched in September, the Mint created the online bullion trading platform so interested people can buy and sell gold easily and securely. It pushed for the establishment of the online bullion trading platform based on a research by the World Gold Council. The latter said in its report that in within the UK alone, there was potentially £4 billion-worth of untapped demand for gold investment.

Prices of the safe haven yellow metal gold has performed poorly over recent months. This week, for the first time since August 2014, it hit $1,300 an ounce.