A commemorative coin featuring the image of an eye and the inscription âBig Brother is watching youâ is being released to pay tribute to âNineteen Eighty-fourâ author George Orwell and mark his death 75 years ago.
The £2 ($2.40) coin depicts what appears to be an eye but is a camera lens, and the coinâs edge is inscribed with another quote from Orwellâs dystopian novel: âThere was truth and there was untruth.â
Coinage artist Henry Gray said the theme of totalitarianism was central to his design.âWith phones and cameras being everywhere in your house, and being listened to by advertisers on your phone, you are really aware of how youâre being surveyed â and thatâs what â1984â is all about,â he said.
âThatâs why the eye (in the design) isnât a realistic eye. It doesnât have eyelashes and things like that because I wanted it to be monocular. Itâs almost like a camera lens staring at you all the time, unblinking.â
The novel, set in a fictional future, depicts civil servant Winston Smithâs secret rebellion against a totalitarian government and its leader, Big Brother.
Orwell, who also wrote the political fable âAnimal Farm,â died in a London hospital at age 46 on January 21, 1950, a few months after âNineteen Eighty-fourâ was published.Britainâs Royal Mint said the collectorâs coin will be released on Wednesday with prices starting from £17.50 each.
Other literary figures who have been commemorated on £2 coins include William Shakespeare, Jane Austen and J.R.R. Tolkien.