However an extremely rare photograph of the legendary outlaw leaning on a croquet mallet has emerged – only the second known photo of “The Kid”, whose real name is Henry McCarty, thought to exist. The photo was taken just one month after the end of the Lincoln County War, according to Kagin’s.
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The only other known photograph of Billy the Kid is a portrait of the outlaw taken in Fort Sumner, NM in 1880.
Here’s an image of Billy the Kid that probably doesn’t fit the legend.
Kagin’s say it was taken in the late summer of 1878 and features members of Billy the Kid’s gang, “The Regulators”, playing croquet.
Billy the Kid’s authenticated tintype is appraised and insured at $5 million, and there are “a couple of people who are interested right now”, McCathy told Fox News.
“When we first saw the photograph, we were understandably skeptical”, David McCarthy, Kagin’s senior numismatist, said in a news release.
The original of that was sold to Florida billionaire William Koch for $US2.3 million in 2011.
Sallie Chisum, whose journals provided first-hand accounts of Bonney’s exploits, is also in the photo, Kagins said. Rather than a threatening outlaw, Billy the Kid seems to be enjoying a few downtime following what Kagin’s said was a wedding. Kagin’s recently made news across the world with the announcement of North America’s largest buried treasure find, the Saddle Ridge Hoard, and the Butte Nugget, largest gold nugget in private hands. “How this particular one has gained so much traction is beyond me”. He is reputed to have killed 21 men, one for each year of his life, although most historians believe the actual number is much lower.
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Western Americana enthusiast Randy Guijarro led the authentication team and his journey will be the subject of a two-hour documentary airing on the National Geographic channel on October 18, narrated by Kevin Costner.
