A rare photograph of the fabled outlaw Billy the Kid, purchased for a mere $2 could now fetch $5 million. The outlaw, named William Henry McCarty Jr., was playing crocquet with his gang during the summer of 1878 when this 4 by 5 inch image was captured.
This picture was bought by collector Randy Guijjaro for a pittance of $2 as part of miscellaneous lot at a Fresno junk shop in 2010.
The American company Kagin is negotiating the sale in collaboration with National Geographic who will be showing “Billy the Kid: New Evidence” narrated by Kevin Costner, on Sunday at 9pm.
Kagin had to ensure that they could answer and verify where, when and how this photograph was taken. Just a resemblance in a case like this, where a ridiculous sum of money is involved, is not enough. A team of experts had to be assembled to verify the authenticity of the photograph and to address each and every detail in the photo to insure nothing was out of place.
Kagin based the price of this photograph on the basis of the only other Kid snap which went for $2.3 million in 2010. Only someone who has some serious money in his bank account or is a hard core fan of Billy the Kid would opt to buy a photograph at this price.
[ Via : Marketwatch ]
