Anyone Ever See A Peterson System Pipe With An Aluminum Ferrule?

I came across an old "Made in England" pre-republic pipe that has an aluminum ferrule. It's on a system 3 pipe. I'm no expert on Petersons, and I can't seem to find any reference to this. It has the name Peterson stamped on it along with the clover, fox and tower emblems. It's very thin and light weight, and looks and feels nothing like the usual nickel or silver ferrules I've seen. The Made in England stamp on the pipe is in a circle so it seems like it could be dated to the late 30s to early 40s. I'm just about done restoring this pipe, but I kept thinking about the ferrule material. I'll try to post a pic later.
Anyone ever come across this type of ferrule?

I guess nobody's got any info so far, but here's a pic if it helps.

Warren, it's not nickel, I've got pipes with both silver and nickel bands or ferrules, and they have a much different look. This metal is very lightweight and is a "white" color metal, rather than the warmer nickel or silver. I've got another pic that might show it better, and shows the damage to the shank that I had to repair.

Hey guys, no apologizes needed! Everybody's comments are interesting and useful. I find trying to date a Peterson is a difficult process to some degree, as there is so much information to go through. I did some research months ago when trying to date another pre-republic Peterson, and it took a little while for sure. I just found it odd that the ferrule on this was aluminum. If the pipe really dates to the late 30s or early 40s, using aluminum would seem an odd choice as you would think it would be in short supply during war years. I don't know what other date it could be from what I've read though.
Hittel, I thought I'd seen your name on this site, and I was glad to get the pipe at what I considered a fair price. It was a lot of work, but it's going to be a Christmas present to my wife as it's from an era very close to her birthdate. We're not people that feel the need to have a birth year pipe exactly, it's just kind of fun having a pipe to smoke that is about our own age. I've got a Peterson made in the mid to late 40s that I restored and enjoy smoking on a regular basis. (yeah, my wife's a little older than me, heh, heh)
Thanks again for all the feedback on this though. Love these old pipes and their history! ::