# Restoring an ash tray

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restoring-an-ash-tray/394984>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 7, 2007, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restoring-an-ash-tray/394984 "2007-03-07T19:21:22Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\
**Post date:** [March 7, 2007, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restoring-an-ash-tray/394984/1 "2007-03-07T19:21:22Z")

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My sister was throwing out an ash tray that my parents picked up in Japan in the early-mid-'60s. It’s a simple white dish with three cigar-sized depressions at 120º separation around the rim, a smooth interior, and ‘grooves’ (not deep, but it looks like a record) around the rim. Each third of the rim has printing on it in silver paint, which has been faded/cleaned to vanishing in some places:

APPROVED BY THE U.S. ARMED FORCES

YOKOSUKA…  
KAN…

And two rows of Japanese characters ending with the numbers (3) 0130~013(?)

First, whom should I see who would be capable of restoring it? Second, how can I find out what the missing characters (including the Japanese ones) are?