And the answer to the question is..........
Conversion bait
Well, technically yes, a conversion. But I see more age on it that some.
Who does a brass joint for a conversion these days? I haven't seen many, though possible. The back end of this cue is pretty beat, at the bottom of the butt plate. It does show some age, as does the forearm.
There are some modern features, but if you're going to do a conversion pretty recently, would you do this? I could see this possibly being a 70s cue.
In the end, I don't think anyone has this nailed down.
All the best,
WW