I don't think that the chainring is Pope manufactured. He took over Nyack in 1901 along with Spaulding & numerous other small companies. American bicycle company decals were put on the bikes. It is stated in the catalogs that he took over the manufacturing of these bikes. I don't see the feasibility of changing the tooling to make these bikes for one year. I believe that it was all a matter of getting rid of the completion. Nyack made the frames & handlebars but purchased all the other components from other suppliers. I've seen this chainring on another bike somewhere. Possibly it was on a number of other smaller manufacturer's bikes in that era. On my bike ,underside of the bottom bracket is a patent date of Nov.13,1888. Hope this could be of some help.
