For the purpose of paying honor to George Orwell, author of “Nineteen Eighty-four,” and commemorating the fact that he passed away seventy-five years ago, a commemorative coin that has the picture of an eye and the message “Big Brother is watching you” is being released recently.
The edge of the coin, which is worth $2.40, is engraved with another passage from George Orwell’s dystopian novel, which reads, “There was truth and there was untruth.” The coin features what looks to be an eye but is actually a camera lens.
During the design process, coinage artist Henry Gray stated that the concept of tyranny played a significant role.
“With phones and cameras being everywhere in your house, and being listened to by advertisers on your phone, you are really aware of how you are being surveyed, and that is what ‘1984’ is all about,” he added. “You have a clear understanding of the methods used to survey you on your phone.”
This means the design’s eye is not real. Because I intended the eye to have a monocular appearance, it lacks eyelashes and other features. One might say that it is almost as if a camera lens is always and unflinchingly peering at you.
Winston Smith, a civil servant, leads a covert revolt against a totalitarian government and Big Brother, the head of that nation, in this dystopian future story.
On January 21, 1950, at the age of 46, George Orwell passed away in a hospital in London. He was also the author of the political fable “Animal Farm.” His death occurred a few months after the publication of “Nineteen Eighty-four.”
The Royal Mint will make the collector’s coin available for purchase on Wednesday, with prices starting at 17.50 pounds apiece.
Commemorative coins weighing two pounds each have honored a number of other literary figures, including William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, and J.R.R. Tolkien.
