Margaret, it's a 17-fret tenor banjo, probably built before 1960, and possibly built before 1941. It was not a professional banjo, but it wasn't the cheapest made, either because it has a wooden "pot" (shell) and not a metal one as the cheapest ones did.
MOST of these banjos were built to play early forms of Jazz (Ragtime, Dixieland, etc.), and to make them loud, they almost always had resonators on the back. It's surprising that yours does not. I can't see any signs that it once had a resonator, but that's hard to determine without seeing it in person.
If it never had a resonator, that's another indicator that it was a student instrument. Is the fretboard painted or is that the natural color of the wood they used? If it's painted that's a sign of budget instrument.
So it's "vintage" but not name-brand. It's old, but probably playable. It's a student instrument, but not the cheapest they made. It's made for early Jazz but isn't all that useful for that without a resonator.
What I'm trying to say is I don't see many good comparisons. Here are two:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-TENOR- ... 0505.m3226https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Tenor- ... Swf-tars~yhttps://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Banjo- ... SwCoBakufkhttps://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Tenor- ... SwBPJartQ6The last one is pretty close to yours as it has a wooden pot but no resonator. It's probably older, and its original skin head has been replaced with a mylar drum head, but that's pretty common on banjos that old.
Hope this helps,
Paul
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