Man buys photo for $2 at junk store, unaware it's a Billy the kid ‘holy grail’ worth $5m
'This is a story. It's not just a portrait of him. This tells a day in the life,' says Rany Gujarro
When Rany Guijarro stepped out of a dusty Fresno junk shop in 2010, clutching three faded tinytypes he had picked up for $2 on his way home from work, he had no idea what he held. It was only under a magnifying glass back home that a peculiar scene: a young man casually leaning on a croquet mallet, wearing a distinctly familiar hat and slouch. Guijarro became convinced that the figure was none other than 19th-century outlaw Henry McCarty, or more popularly known as "Billy the Kid." What started as a casual pick-up turned into a grueling five-year forensic quest with a $5 million payoff, as reported by the Guardian on October 19, 2015.
The $2 junk shop discovery
In 2010, Guijarro walked into a modest memorabilia shop in Fresno County, California, drawn simply to vintage, dusty artifacts. He rummaged through discarded items and selected three small tinytypes, sealing the deal with pocket change. "Two dollars and a song, I got three old photographs," he recalled while speaking to National Geographic. At four by five inches, the metal plate caught his eye strictly for its pastoral appeal, yet beneath the surface lay a visual snapshot that would alter the course of his life.
Spotting the fateful stance
The casual purchase became an obsession the moment Guijarro took the tiny type home and examined it under a magnifying glass, and one central figure immediately caught his attention. It was a lean young man resting his weight on a wooden croquet mallet, sporting an unmistakable brimmed hat and a casual slouch. "Man, this is Billy the Kid; I can’t believe it!" he said to himself. Seeing several companions scattered across the lawn, his wife Linda promptly urged, "Well, there are a lot of people. Who were his buddies?" That single question launched their cross-country investigation into Lincoln County Regulators.
The grinding road to proof
For the next five years, the couple transitioned into makeshift historians, traveling through Southwestern archives, visiting Old West trade shows, and consulting skeptical specialists who doubted the image outright. "Linda and I became authenticators and historians by default," Gujarro explained. The stakes surged even higher after billionaire William Koch paid a whopping $2.3 million for the only confirmed portrait of "Billy the Kid" in 2011. Rather than giving up after repeated rejections, the Guijarros assembled a dedicated research team that retraced 19th-century entries, geographic landmarks, and facial measurements to establish a verifiable timeline.
TIL a man had purchased a $2 tintype photograph at an antique shop, only to uncover its astonishing secret – it was an exceedingly rare image of Billy the Kid, making it just the second known photograph in existence of the iconic outlaw. The tintype photograph has since been appraised at $5 million.
by u/DonDraperItsToasted in todayilearned
Millions and lingering doubts
By late 2015, the couple's persistence culminated in official backing from Kagin's Americana, the rare-collectibles firm that authenticated the tinytype and secured a $5 million insurance policy for it. The saga gained national prominence when the National Geographic Channel broadcast "Billy the Kid: New Evidence," laying out the forensic case alongside testimonies of the Regulators' fatal conflict. Despite vocal skeptics among Western historians who argue the identification remains unproven, Gujarro stands firmly behind the image. "This is a story,” he stated. “It's not just a portrait of him. This tells a day in the life.”
Thrifting remains undisputed
There might still be lingering doubts around the photograph, but there's no denying it's stories like these that make thrifting such a great experience. According to a Business Wire survey, 90% of North American consumers have engaged in thrifting at least once. Most of the thrifting happens offline, with the report suggesting that shoppers spend 4.5 times more in-person than at online thrift stores. Apart from clothing, books are the leading thrifting item, with 46% buying secondhand books.
Seems like a professional snapshot
People had divided opinions about the story and the photograph. @galaxy-bw4oh wrote, "It seems this croquet version photo is not a casual snapshot but a special shot that was taken by a professional cameraman. Because it is very well composed, each person is lined up in a row, very well directed. I wonder if the person is really Billy the Kid or not." While @laney3182 noted, "That pic is authentic. Billy was attending a wedding. That picture brings tears to my eyes. I’m a huge BILLY THE KID FAN."
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