# New Billy the Kid photo authenticated. Insured for 5 million. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 13, 2015, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-billy-the-kid-photo-authenticated-insured-for-5-million/734557 "2015-10-13T17:07:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-billy-the-kid-photo-authenticated-insured-for-5-million/734557/1 "2015-10-13T17:07:20Z")
I’m impressed with the procedure used to authenticate the photo. They found a diary that describes a wedding attended by Billy and friends. They determined which ranch and even traveled there to find a part of the original building thats shown in the photo. Story is on their front page right now. It’ll probably get moved later. The uncropped photo is included. > **[Specializing in early and rare US copper, pioneer, gold, and silver coins.](https://www.kagins.com/)** > > Specializing in early and rare US copper, pioneer, territorial, gold, and silver coins. > **[New image shows Billy the Kid playing croquet](https://www.foxnews.com/science/new-image-shows-billy-the-kid-playing-croquet)** > > A rare coin dealer in California has concluded that a grainy image of legendary gunman Billy the Kid playing croquet is the real thing and could be worth as much as $5 million. > [@](#): > > “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, in a press release. > > “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,” he continued. “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.” ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-billy-the-kid-photo-authenticated-insured-for-5-million/734557/2 "2015-10-13T17:16:56Z")
I’m amazed they claim this one tintype might be worth 5 million. Especially since Billy is way in the background. Yeah, its very cool. I saved the jpeg to my hard drive. But I wouldn’t give them 500k for it. Even if I was filthy rich. I’d buy a Lamborghini or a Matisse painting before I’d buy a tiny tintype for millions. YMMV ---
**Author:** ![Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cabin_fever_1/32/2908_2.png) [@Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabin_Fever_1)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-billy-the-kid-photo-authenticated-insured-for-5-million/734557/3 "2015-10-13T17:20:14Z")
Wow. Thanks for the heads-up. What got me is it was purchased among other stuff for $2USD and now insured for 5 million. I wish I could get that lucky. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-billy-the-kid-photo-authenticated-insured-for-5-million/734557/4 "2015-10-13T17:27:16Z")
A question. This is a candid photo. Seems like some posed and a couple people weren’t. The lady on the horse for example doesn’t look posed. It doesn’t look like photos where people had to stand perfectly still for several minutes. Would that newer camera technology been available in 1878? Billy died July 14, 1881. 2 years after this photo. > [@](#): > > The 4×5 inch tintype not only depicts Billy the Kid, but several members of his gang, The Regulators, playing a leisurely game of croquet alongside friends, family, and lovers in the late summer of 1878. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-billy-the-kid-photo-authenticated-insured-for-5-million/734557/5 "2015-10-13T17:35:35Z")
I never imagined Billy playing croquet, or wearing such stylish apparel. What would such a sweater (?) be called? ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-billy-the-kid-photo-authenticated-insured-for-5-million/734557/6 "2015-10-13T17:36:18Z")
Billy and the Regulators? Sounds like a name for a British pop band from the '60s ---
**Author:** ![Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cabin_fever_1/32/2908_2.png) [@Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabin_Fever_1)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-billy-the-kid-photo-authenticated-insured-for-5-million/734557/7 "2015-10-13T17:40:15Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’m amazed they claim this one tintype might be worth 5 million. Especially since Billy is way in the background. Yeah, its very cool. I saved the jpeg to my hard drive. But I wouldn’t give them 500k for it. Even if I was filthy rich. I’d buy a Lamborghini or a Matisse painting before I’d buy a tiny tintype for millions. YMMV I am laughing here because you got a copy of it for free. When you get your Lamborghini and take me to see your Matisse I will buy you lunch. As an amateur history buff I can see the potential of insurance of such a rare find. No snark intended… Just a point in time captured on film. (or tin). ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-billy-the-kid-photo-authenticated-insured-for-5-million/734557/8 "2015-10-13T17:50:50Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Billy and the Regulators? Sounds like a name for a British pop band from the '60s Actually, it’s a [current blues band.](https://www.reverbnation.com/billythekidtheregulators) > [@Cabin\_Fever](#): > > What got me is it was purchased among other stuff for $2USD and now insured for 5 million. > I wish I could get that lucky. 🙂 It took more than luck to turn this into something worth millions. It took knowledge of what it actually was. I wonder what the process was? Did the purchaser think he might have something valuable from first seeing it? Or did he start researching the history casually, only twigging to the fact that it was something significant after digging for a while? ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-billy-the-kid-photo-authenticated-insured-for-5-million/734557/9 "2015-10-13T17:53:44Z")
He looks a little like Casey Affleck (if he had a major stroke). I’m guessing its the croquet. ---
**Author:** ![Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cabin_fever_1/32/2908_2.png) [@Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabin_Fever_1)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-billy-the-kid-photo-authenticated-insured-for-5-million/734557/10 "2015-10-13T17:56:49Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > A question. > > This is a candid photo. Seems like some posed and a couple people weren’t. The lady on the horse for example doesn’t look posed. It doesn’t look like photos where people had to stand perfectly still for several minutes. Would that newer camera technology been available in 1878? > > Billy died July 14, 1881. 2 years after this photo. Yes. Photography had advanced. In bright daylight one didn’t have to stand still for 30 minutes. The tin-type in someways still look posed understandably. [http://photo.net/history/timeline](http://photo.net/history/timeline) ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-billy-the-kid-photo-authenticated-insured-for-5-million/734557/11 "2015-10-13T18:06:58Z")
Did “regulators” have a different meaning or connotation at that time? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-billy-the-kid-photo-authenticated-insured-for-5-million/734557/12 "2015-10-13T18:13:06Z")
Maybe I should use that for the design of my giant statue. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-billy-the-kid-photo-authenticated-insured-for-5-million/734557/13 "2015-10-13T18:20:10Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Did “regulators” have a different meaning or connotation at that time? [The Regulators](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_County_Regulators) were a group that participated in the Lincoln County Cattle War. They were formed to “regulate” what they believed to corruption in local law enforcement. In Andersonville Prison Camp during the Civil War, a group of Regulators was formed among the Union prisoners to control the [Raiders,](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andersonville_Raiders) a gang that was robbing and killing other prisoners. I imagine there were other groups of “Regulators,” informal groups to enforce law and order where there was little or none. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-billy-the-kid-photo-authenticated-insured-for-5-million/734557/14 "2015-10-13T18:28:08Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > He looks a little like Casey Affleck (if he had a major stroke). > > I’m guessing its the croquet. Considering how…homely…he is in the existing photos, Billy is probably the historical figure with the greatest disparity between his actual appearance and the actors who have portrayed him, including Paul Newman, Val Kilmer, Kris Kristofferson, Emilo Estevez, and [Johnny Mack Brown](http://www.bellazon.com/main/uploads/monthly_10_2010/post-37737-1286543969.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-billy-the-kid-photo-authenticated-insured-for-5-million/734557/15 "2015-10-13T18:32:09Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Did “regulators” have a different meaning or connotation at that time? Yeah. Did they sell propane and propane accessories? I used to live about an hour or so drive from there. There is a certain charm to the sparse surroundings out in SE NM ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-billy-the-kid-photo-authenticated-insured-for-5-million/734557/16 "2015-10-13T18:49:36Z")
This is really exciting. I was really into Billy the Kid history when I was younger. The sweater is such a hilarious contrast to his popular image. He looks like a 19th century Urkel. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-billy-the-kid-photo-authenticated-insured-for-5-million/734557/17 "2015-10-13T19:05:42Z")
I wonder what that guy to Billy’s right is pointing at. It’s like he’s pointing at something he wants the photographer to take note of. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-billy-the-kid-photo-authenticated-insured-for-5-million/734557/18 "2015-10-13T19:07:12Z")
The other known photo of Billy sold for $2.3M and it’s a lot better portrait of him. ---
**Author:** ![Razncain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9d8465/32.png) [@Razncain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Razncain)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-billy-the-kid-photo-authenticated-insured-for-5-million/734557/19 "2015-10-13T19:11:28Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Considering how…homely…he is in the existing photos, Billy is probably the historical figure with the greatest disparity between his actual appearance and the actors who have portrayed him, including Paul Newman, Val Kilmer, Kris Kristofferson, Emilo Estevez, and [Johnny Mack Brown](http://www.bellazon.com/main/uploads/monthly_10_2010/post-37737-1286543969.jpg). I remember on a PBS special how Billy’s gf commented how that one particular known photo of him at the time, just didn’t do him justice at all and wasn’t a fair depiction of him. Maybe she was just madly in love, or it could have been bad lighting. Anyway, thanks for the cool find, I love looking at old pics like that. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-billy-the-kid-photo-authenticated-insured-for-5-million/734557/20 "2015-10-13T19:29:22Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > The other known photo of Billy sold for $2.3M and it’s a lot better portrait of him. That was taken when he was just a killer. Now he’s a sports star. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-billy-the-kid-photo-authenticated-insured-for-5-million/734557.md?page=2)