Sam, I own an SW1911 with the serial number JRE0106. I have the box, and the label has a number next to the serial number that reads "3323". Usually, this translates on S&W labels to the Julian date when the pistol was manufactured, which on mine would be the 323rd day of 2003.
I also have one with the serial number JRD0119 with the case and label, which reads "2360", for the 360th day of 2002, the year that the SW1911 was announced in December (according to the Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson). The guns were displayed at the SHOT show in February 2003.
I don't know when your JRF prefix gun was manufactured, but I think a safe guess would be in 2004 or 2005. Maybe someone else can nail it down more closely. I don't know how many guns were in each prefix code, though I have seen JRD's as high as the 9000's. Maybe there were 10,000 in the initial run -- that's just a guess -- but I don't know if the succeeding prefixes were produced in similar quantities.
My JRE was NIB when I bought it, having been a safe queen for many years. Perhaps yours was the same for someone, though it's possible it is new old stock. Congratulations on your SW1911!
EDITED TO ADD: Here's a link to a thread containing many different prefixes that were provided by Forum members for the latest edition of the SCSW. One of the members has a JRF manufactured in 2005. See post #10.
Serial number help needed on recent guns! Triple alpha prefixes:
Production year 1911
Linear Mode
