A coin dealer in California has verified that an image of Billy the Kid playing croquet is the real deal.
The photo was originally purchased by Randy Guijarro of Freemont, who acquired it for $2 in a Fresno junk shop. It’s a 4×5 tintype showing Billy the Kid and his gang, the Regulators, playing croquet in the summer of 1878. Billy can be seen wearing a top hat and relaxing after a wedding.
The photo is believed to be valued at around $5 million, and a numismatist claims there are already several buyers interested.
The only other known photo is one showing Billy with a Colt revolver and Winchester carbine rifle. It sold for $2.3 million in 2011 to a Florida businessman named William Koch.
The photo was authenticated using facial recognition software, and the diary of a woman named Sally Chisum, who verified that the men were there at the time due to a cattle drive that took place. The diary described the wedding and described the players who appear in the photograph.
A National Geographic Channel documentary will be airing this coming Sunday, produced and narrated by Kevin Costner.
