Billy The Kid Photograph Could Be Worth $5m

A coin dealer in California has authenticated a grainy photograph of legendary gunman Billy the Kid with members of his gang which could be worth up to $5m (£3.3m).

The tintype image was bought for just $2 (£1.30) at a Fresno junk shop in 2010 and features the outlaw playing croquet with several members of the Lincoln County Regulators in 1878.

It was taken a month after the end of the Lincoln County war and captures the outlaws relaxing after a wedding.

Dr Donald Kagin, president of Kagin's coin dealership in San Francisco, said: "This iconic, lively and fun artefact is history in your hand - a snapshot of the lifestyle of one of the most notorious figures of the Wild West.

"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."

David McCarthy, senior numismatist at the dealer, said: "When we first saw the photograph, we were understandably sceptical - an original Billy the Kid photo is the Holy Grail of Western Americana.

"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 - a team of experts had to be assembled to address each and every detail in the photo to ensure that nothing was out of place.

"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."

The only other known photograph of the Kid was a portrait taken in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, in 1880.

That tintype image sold for $2.3m (£1.5m) in 2010.

The discovery will be the subject of a two-hour documentary on the National Geographic Channel, which will air on 18 October.

In it, Hollywood star Kevin Costner narrates the journey taken by Western Americana enthusiast Randy Guijarro as he tried to authenticate the image.

Billy the Kid, whose real name was William Henry McCarty, shot dead a sheriff and his deputy after the murder of the ranch owner he worked for in 1878.

He went on the run for two years, before he was eventually captured and convicted and sentenced to hang for the murders in Lincoln.

But he managed to escape in 1881 after shooting two guards at his jail and fled.

He was eventually shot dead by Sheriff Pat Garrett on 14 July 1881.