Uncaught SyntaxError: Unexpected token ILLEGAL when returning a £ symbol using JSON

When I try to return a £ symbol from a JSON call, I get an error in chrome: Uncaught SyntaxError: Unexpected token ILLEGAL

var currency = "";
var price = "";

$  .ajax({
  type: 'GET',
  url: '../JSONDeliveryPrice/',
  dataType: 'json',
  success: function (data) {
    price = eval(data.price);
    currency = eval(data.currency);
  },
  async: false
});
console.log(price);
console.log(currency);

currency should equal “£” but instead I get that error. Do I have to encode/decode the value somehow? Also, price outputs correctly if I return just the price.

EDIT:

public virtual ActionResult JSONDeliveryPrice()
        {
            string currency = "£";
            decimal price = 123;
            return Json(new { price = price, currency = currency }, JsonRequestBehavior.AllowGet);
        }

newest questions tagged jquery – Stack Overflow