Iver Johnson Looking for Date of Manufacture

[darrow]

Trying to establish the date of an event, and need the date this pistol was made....It is an Iver Johnson hammerless 38 with the
following markings....
- under trigger guard - 5446
- under left pistol grip - R5446
- top of barrel - place of manufacture- see photo
- under handle - patent pending mark - see photo
- also photo of the pistol
Thanks in advance for any help
Darrow

 

[Sunray]

Probably easier to net search the event. What's the event?
However, there are several sites with IJ history that talk about the years each model was made. None with actual manufacturer dates by S/N.
There's a 1st, 2nd and 3rd model Hammerless too. Barrel length matters too.

 

[Dr.Rob]

Coil spring or leaf spring? Flat springs means its a black powder cartridge and made 1897-1908.

Coil springs production for smokeless powder ran 1909 to 1941 but were cataloged through 1948.

 

[Ron James]

Iver Johnson used the serial number R5446 in 1905. They started proofing for smokeless powder in 1909