The obverse bears kneeling woman with old-fashioned broom beneath her being raised by goddess; trees and sun in background. Above, HOOVER ELECTRIC CLEANER

The reverse bears image of Chicago fair grounds. Above, CENTURY / OF PROGRESS / 1933; below, SOUVENIR OF THE / HOOVER / EXHIBIT

The Hoover Company was founded as a floor care manufacturer in North Canton, Ohio, in 1908. It so completely dominated the electric vacuum cleaner market in the first half of the 20th century that "hoovering" became synonymous with vacuum cleaning, much as "googling" became synonymous with web searching at the beginning of the 21st century.

This is such a handsome token, and also one whose imagery is so completely over the top! I would never belittle the impact that the invention of the vaccum cleaner had on a woman cleaning house in the 1930s, but I always have to smile at the woman's look of abject adoration at the prospect of being freed from toil and at the rising sun promising a brighter future.

The token measures 32mm in diameter. It was handed out to visitors of the Hoover Exhibit at the Chicago Cenury of Progress Exhibition of 1933. Its obverse is based on the Hoover Silver Jubilee token from one year earlier.