The eye on the coin does not have lashes and is designed to resemble a camera lens. Royal MintThe United Kingdoms Royal Mint is releasing a new coin honoringGeorge Orwell on the 75th anniversary of his death. The 2 (roughly $2.45) piece pays homage to Nineteen Eighty-Four, Orwells famous dystopian novel exploring themes like totalitarianism, propaganda, surveillance and freedom.He was a writer concerned with poverty, class and power, writes theGuardiansDesigned by artistHenry Gray, the coins reverse features a large eye with the words Big Brother is watching you circling the iris. Orwells name is inscribed underneath. On its edge is another quote from the novel, There was truth and there was untruth.With phones and cameras being everywhere in your house, and being listened to by advertisers on your phone, you are really aware of how youre being surveyedand thats what Nineteen Eighty-Four is all about, says Gray in a statement from the Mint.Thats why the eye in Grays design isnt a realistic eye; it doesnt have eyelashes and things like that because I wanted it to be monocular, he adds. Its almost like a camera lens staring at you all the time, unblinking. Orwell is known for his fiction examining themes liketotalitarian and control. Royal MintBorn in 1903, Orwell spent his early career working with the Indian Imperial Police in Burma. With time, however, he became increasingly ashamed of his role as a colonial police officer, as Encyclopedia Britannica writes. He drew on these experiences for his first novel, Burmese Days (1934).About a decade later, Orwell made a name for himself with Animal Farm (1945). The political fable, which uses anthropomorphic animals to tell a story about power and corruption, would become one of his most celebrated works.Nineteen Eighty-Four followed soon after. Published in 1949, the novel follows Winston Smith, a worker at the Ministry of Truth, as he secretly rebels against a totalitarian government and its leader, Big Brother.Orwell died at age 46 on January 21, 1950just a few months after Nineteen Eighty-Fours publication. He joins a group of celebrated British authors with commemorative coins from the Royal Mint, including William Shakespeare, Jane Austen and J.R.R. Tolkien. (Other recent coins not linked to literature have featured David Bowie, Paddington Bear and Winnie the Pooh, per Londonists Matt Brown.)For those interested in collecting the new 2 piece (which features Charles III on the obverse), it is now available for purchase on the Royal Mints website. Those who want a closer look can visit the Royal Mint Experience in Wales to strike their own Orwell coin.The works of George Orwell have influenced generations, and his most famous works are still being studied todaydecades on from their first publication, says Rebecca Morgan, director of commemorative coins at the Royal Mint, in anotherstatement. I am delighted to share this unique design with collectors and fans of Orwells work, paying tribute to one of the most world-renowned authors of the 20th century.Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.Filed Under: Books, British Writers, Coins, Collecting, Designers, Fiction, Literature, Writers