Thrift Store Finds Considered 'Billy the Kid' Images Worth Millions
- December 06, 2015 23:23
Since billionaire businessman Bill Koch bought the only authenticated photograph of gunslinger Billy the Kid for $2.6 million in 2011, two more alluring images (possibly) of the legendary outlaw have surfaced.
Recently, North Carolina attorney Frank Abrams began sleuthing the identities of sitters in a three and a half-inch photo that he bought at a flea market a few years ago for $10. He thinks he has a possible photo of Billy the Kid, whose real name was Henry McCarty, and that the mustached man standing on the left in a three piece suit resembles Pat Garrett, the sheriff who shot McCarty dead in 1881.
Experts are reviewing the image.
Another photo, discovered five years ago by Randy Guijarro, shows Billy the Kid playing croquet with others at a wedding. Guijarro purchased the 4x5 inch tintype picture with a couple other images at a Fresno, California, junk shop, for $2. This newly authenticated find is the only image known showing Billy the Kid with his gang, the Regulators, and has been given an appraisal value of $5 million. It is being handled by Kagin's.