Orwell's literary legacy featured on new £2 coin

A new £2 coin will commemorate the life and work of writer George Orwell.

It will be issued by The Royal Mint to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm author's death.

The design of the coin is based on the theme of totalitarianism, which was central to Orwell's writing, and it will be available to buy from Wednesday.

The inscription "Big Brother is watching you", a quote taken from Nineteen Eighty-Four, encircles the lens.

Another quote from the acclaimed dystopian novel, "There was truth and there was untruth", serves as the coin's edge inscription.

Coinage artist Henry Gray said he had given the eye in the design a "monocular" rather than "realistic" look.

"It's almost like a camera lens staring at you all the time, unblinking," he said.

"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're being surveyed – and that's what 1984 is all about.

"It's about living in a culture where everything is looked at and you are constantly under pressure to conform."

Nineteen Eighty-Four, which was published in 1949, is set in an imaginary totalitarian future and made a deep impression, with its title and many phrases entering popular use.

Orwell, whose real name is Eric Blair, was also a prolific journalist, writing articles, reviews and books.

The author grew up in Oxfordshire's Henley-on-Thames and Shiplake, and is buried in Sutton Courtenay.

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