LONDON –
A commemorative coin with the image of an eye and the inscription “Big Brother is watching you” is launched to pay tribute to the author of “1984”, George Orwell, and commemorate his death 75 years ago.
The 2 pound (US$2.40) coin depicts what appears to be an eye, but is a camera lens, and on the edge of the coin is inscribed another quote from Orwell’s dystopian novel: “There was truth and lie”.
Coin artist Henry Gray said the theme of totalitarianism was central to its design.
“With phones and cameras everywhere in your house, and being listened to by advertisers on your phone, you’re really aware of how you’re being surveyed, and that’s what ‘1984’ is about,” he said.
“That’s why the eye (in the design) is not a realistic eye. It doesn’t have eyelashes or anything like that because I wanted it to be monocular. It’s almost like a camera lens looking at you all the time, without blinking.”
The novel, set in a fictional future, describes the secret rebellion of civil servant Winston Smith against a totalitarian government and its leader, Big Brother.
Orwell, who also wrote the political fable “Animal Farm,” died in a London hospital at age 46 on Jan. 21, 1950, a few months after the publication of “Nineteen Eighty-Four.”
The Royal Mint said the collector coin will be released on Wednesday with prices starting at £17.50 each.
Other literary figures who have been commemorated on £2 coins include William Shakespeare, Jane Austen and JRR Tolkien.
