Jon - I also own a very similar 1896 rifle. The "missing" date cartouche has been made note of several times over the years, and usually on 1896 model rifles. The 1896's were widely issued and used in the field, whereas a later 1898 probably was not. I'm sure many of the earlier rifles required arsenal repairs and parts replacement. I think (but don't really know) that the original cartouche could have been removed as part of the process. Or, a replacement stock might not have received this stamp. I havn't found any references really addressing the particulars of rebuild processes at the turn of the century. Feel free to post photos, it might get more comment on this point. Regards.