This incredible picture of the notorious outlaw Billy the Kid could be worth $2 million.
The 'tintype' image was bought from a junk shop five years ago for just $7 million as part of a miscellaneous lot but has now been authenticated.
The 4×5 inch picture features several of the Lincoln County Regulators of which the legendary gunman was a member.
The Regulators are playing croquet with friends, family and lovers after a wedding in the late summer of 1878, according to Western Americana and Rare Coin experts,Kagin’s, Inc .
It was taken just one month after the Lincoln County War came to an end, a statement on Kagin's website says.
“When we first saw the photograph, we were understandably skeptical – an original Billy the Kid photo is the Holy Grail of Western Americana,” Kagin’s senior numismatist David McCarthy said.
“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 insure 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 picture has been appraised and insured for $5m and will be the subject of a two-hour documentary on the National Geographic Channel this Sunday. Kagin's will be handling the sale.
The only other known photograph of Billy the Kid is a 2×3 inch tintype portrait taken in Fort Sumner, New Mexico in 1880 that raised £1.5m ($2.3m) in 2010.
Billy the Kid's real name was Henry McCarty but he was better known as William H Bonney. He was killed aged 21 in 1881 by sheriff Pat Garrett.
Tintypes are made by creating a direct positive on a thin metal sheet covered with a dark lacquer or enamel.
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