Billy the Kid, fourth from left, plays croquet with members of his gang, The Regulators, in 1878. Photo courtesy of Kagins.com

Billy the Kid, left, plays croquet with members of his gang, The Regulators, in 1878. Photo courtesy of Kagins.com

TIBURON, Calif., Oct. 16 (UPI) -- A numismatics firm confirmed a photo bought for $2 at a California antiques shop features Billy the Kid and could be worth up to $5 million.

The firm, Kagin's, said the tintype, 4 inches by 5 inches, shows Billy the Kid playing croquet in the summer of 1878 alongside members of his gang, The Regulators.


Analysts said the photo, which may have been taken at a wedding, was authenticated earlier this month after more than a year of research.

A collector purchased the photo from a Fresno, Calif., antiques store for only $2, but it could be worth up to $5 million, the firm said.

"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."

A 2x3 inch portrait of Billy the Kid -- whose real name may have been Henry McCarty -- sold for $2.3 million in 2010, when it was the only known surviving photograph of the outlaw. The photo was taken at Fort Sumner in 1880 -- one year before he was killed in the same location by Sheriff Pat Garrett.