Share 'seeking comments on primitive fretless'

I'd appreciate some comments on an old banjo that I bought on eBay.  It's a small, primitive, hand-made fretless and I'm trying to estimate its age.  Two possible clues that I'm researching: a.) the pot is made from scarf-jointed wood, similar to grain measure construction.  A previous owner went overboard in mounting a skin head and used so many tacks that the top of the pot is badly split.  How…