It bears repeating that the actual manufacture date of the rifle (receiver by serial number) is the determining factor on antique status. Many rifles were made with model numbers and patent dates stamped all over them seeming to indicate pre-1899, but many of those were actually manufactured after 1898. Examples include the Winchester 1873, 1886, 1892, 1894, 1895; Mauser 1895; Marlin 1888, 1894, 1895; as well as many others.
Patent dates are patent dates. Manufacturers' model designations are just that. Many firearms continued in production for decades after those designations were established. I own a Winchester Model 1886 that was made in 1922, a Winchester Model 1892 made in 1914, Winchester Model 1895 made in 1909, Marlin 1894 made in 1905, and several other examples of this dichotomy. The Mauser Model 1895 rifles continued in manufacture well into the 1930's in two or three different countries.
Be very careful about what you actually have and when it was actually manufactured. A sympathetic jury might find in your favor based upon what information you had to rely upon, but that would happen only after your arrest, trial, and spending your life savings on attorneys to defend you in court.
