They must have used Both as that would seem reasonable various suppliers etc.
1) Look at Dave Beem's 68 Z28 survivor pages there are a couple good shots of he steering nut and In my estimation they appear to be plating that has seen limited decay.
2) This is a photo of my 68 12E LOS car (86k mile) and the nut is clearly still plated as installed by GM. I figure the leaky seal on a PS car kept this nuts finish fresh
I would imagine the location of this nut, lend itself to very harsh conditions given the driving location and storage of these cars and the appearance change with time and use.
just food for thought on the subject. Yours looks great.
just offering info,