Bill,
I think you might be a couple decades behind the times. $1200 won't buy a new 682. But you might get the barrels for that.
I believe all the "silver" receiver lower end (early Silver Pigeon) 68x guns were hardchrome. 68x guns of the last 10 yrs or so had either hardchrome or nickel plating depending on model and year of mfr. Real silver nitride is a pretty fragile plated layer, having worn thru it on a couple guns. Winchester 101's used real silver nitride and many of you know that they didn't hold up all that long.
Adam,
to settle whether your gun is an ALUMINUM alloy or not, just see if a magnet will attract to the frame. All guns, steel framed or aluminum, are made from alloyed metals. "Alloy" is like saying "metal", it can mean any metal or any alloy. Gun mfrs just think "alloy" sounds more hi-tech, I guess.
If the frame is aluminum, it can be anodized. Anodize can be either "hard anodize" which is available in at least gray, o.d. green, and lousy looking matte black, and probably more colors by now. Hard anodize exceeds the hardness of chrome, believe it or not. Other chromic anodize colors are available such as blue, red, gold, clear (silver) and probably more. There was a guy on the net...something like Ford gunsmithing, that specialized in finishes.
If it's steel, you are probably as aware as any of the many choices of finish. I will say I hardchromed a BSS after it had wear, and I regret it. I would rather have worn blue than hardchrome. Also, if it's blued (not black chrome) steel, it can easily be made to look like a coin finish or a french gray.
