Many of us have, at some time or another, imagined discovering hidden treasure or a long-lost item at a flea market.
I know I have, for sure. And my excitement is boosted by the fact that there are stories of people doing exactly that. A lot of them, actually (don’t even try to say you’ve never heard about someone accidentally grabbing an old painting from a famous artist for basically the cost of a cup of coffee).
Of course, ‘treasure’ can mean different things. Most people hear the word and think right away about pirate loot, a chest full of gold coins and fancy goblets with jewels. But honestly, old family pictures and documents can be just as precious to someone who values them. If nothing else, these items usually come with fascinating stories.
Randy Guijarro was likely thinking this way when he spent $2 at a garage sale on an old photo album that looked like it held pretty normal memories.
The photos were definitely aged – their style and lack of color made that clear – but no one knew that one image contained something special enough to make it super rare.
According to reports, Randy chose the box of black-and-white photos simply because he thought they looked cool and different.
When he got home he started flipping through the pictures until suddenly he found a face he recognized.
That face belonged to Billy the Kid, known as one of Wild West’s most infamous outlaws. Billy the Kid—or officially William H. Bonney—was shot in 1881 when he was just 23 years old after living life on the run from law enforcement.
An amazing piece of history? Absolutely! But Randy’s discovery also turned out to be incredibly valuable.
Reports say that the picture Randy had—remember, it cost him only $2—could be worth up to $5 million!
You can check out more about this surprising turn in events in the video below:
