Vintage Palmer "Ray Martin"? Signature Pool Billiard Cue Stick w/Case Best Offer

Description

(added after initial listing) Regarding making an offer, I was expecting that the offer would be MORE than the starting bid amount. This may have been confusing to some, so I am revising it to a Buy It Now listing with Best Offer option added. The posted price is just there as I have to put something there and do not want that price to be too low. I do not necessarily expect anyone to just hit Buy It Now, but rather expect it to sell at a fair offer amount.
This listing is for a really cool and well made cue that is a total mystery to me...
I pored over the internet for info on it, but came up dry. The more well known Palmer Ray Martin cue line shows more typical treatment at forearm and they have steel joint collars. I also sent a bunch of photos to billiardsforum.com and only one person commented that it may have been a custom job by Palmer. Possibly a prototype?
The cue has spliced in interlocking oval rings that are very unusual & very well done. The area on the butt cap that has the Ray Martin signature and PALMER sideways next to it is under the lacquer and there is some lacquer wear below it from age/handling.
The cue is very straight for it's age (estimate 1970's) with just a slight amount of wow to the shaft & butt & definitely straight enough to play with with no issues. There is some blistering of the clear over the shaft collar. The shaft has only a few very, very minor nicks that you can barely feel. The lacquer over the shaft is pretty much 100% intact, so suspect the cue saw little use over the years.
The length is 56 5/8", but the ferrule is very short, so should gain about a half inch with a more modern ferrule. The tip is in excellent condition. I came up with a tip size of 12.75mm using a ruler, so could be off just a teensy bit as I do not have a micrometer for measuring this.
The wrap is linen and extremely clean with just a few areas of light discoloration.
The cue comes with the case it was in when I found it. It is a well made hard case with USA Presto hardware, so good quality. The case has some wear at edges on either end, but is still very structurally sound.
I have absolutely NO idea as to value, so will just start the bidding at a relatively low amount for such a neat cue. I highly doubt it is some type of "fake" Palmer as I just cannot imagine someone going through the trouble of making such a
professional logo on a cue that is not in any Palmer catalog that I have seen. My personal guess is that it might have been a prototype before Palmer settled on the final design of the Ray Martin line of cues that went into production. This is just a guess on my part.
This cue shoots great, but is being sold as a collectible, so all sales are final.
If anyone who is willing can give me some verifiable info on this cue, it would be greatly appreciated so can pass on to potential bidders.
Shipping via UPS Ground insured w/tracking to the US only is FREE with accepted offer.
I also added the Best Offer option and if the number you
proffer
is attractive enough, I just may let it go early.
Thanks for looking & good luck to all!
p.s. if you Google "Palmer Ray Martin cue" you will see the many pics I sent to the website mentioned above.