Billy the Kid photo, bought for $2, is worth $5M

A photo purchased by Randy Guijarro in a California junk shop for $2 was recently authenticated as the second known picture of Wild West outlaw Billy the Kid, according to the Daily Mail, which added that it is also the only known picture of the outlaw’s entire Regulators gang.

In the recently released photo, Billy the Kid is seen fourth from left, looking similar to his infamous portrait – even appearing to wear the same top hat, the Daily Mail claimed, adding that, instead of leaning on a rifle, he holds a croquet mallet as participants engage in a round of the game.

Now that it has been authenticated, the photo is worth an estimated $5million. Kagin’s, the collectibles company currently negotiating the picture’s sale, was initially skeptical of its authenticity, the report stated, quoting senior numismatist David McCarthy. “We had to be certain that we could answer and verify where, when, how and why this photograph was taken. Simple resemblance is not enough in a case like this. … After more than a year of methodical study, including my own inspection of the site, there is now overwhelming evidence of the image’s authenticity,” he said.

It’s believed that the new photo was at a wedding between gang member Charlie Bowdre (seated on a horse in the picture) and his bride Manuella during the late summer in 1878 at the New Mexico ranch of the Kid’s late boss John Tunstall, the Daily Mail reported.

“The historical importance of a photograph of Billy the Kid alongside known members of his gang and prominent Lincoln County citizens is incalculable – this is perhaps the single most compelling piece of Western Americana that we have ever seen,” Kagin’s President Donald Kagin said in a press release quoted in the report.