The above mentioned pistol aside, nickle plating is noted for being quite durable. It's not supposed to be Hard enough to make a pistol out of? How about some alloy of nickle? I'm not saying such a thing would be in any way practical, just that it might be possible to do.
As for the pistol that is the subject of this thread, I would think that if there really were a set of twleve such pistols, they would have had special serial numbers or some other distinguishing marks. They'd be prime candidates for engraving.
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