2023 – 1 oz Niue – BILLY the KID Revolverheld – Antique Finish – 2 NZD

Real name William H. Bonney, Jr., original name Henry McCarty, born November 23, 1859 in New York, died July 14, 1881 in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, was an American bandit and one of the most notorious gunslingers of the American West was. Although he claimed to have killed 21 men, in reality it may have been fewer than 10. At about 21 years old, Billy the Kid was shot and killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett.

Billy was born on the East Side of New York City and immigrated to Kansas with his parents as a child; his father died there, and the mother moved with her two boys to Colorado, where she married again. The family moved to New Mexico, and in his early teens Billy embarked on a career as a thief and outlaw, roaming the southwest and northern parts of Mexico, often with gangs.

He was captured by Garrett in December 1880 and stood trial for murder in Mesilla, New Mexico in April 1881; he was found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging. However, he escaped from prison on April 28, killing two sheriff’s deputies and remained at large until he was tracked down by Garrett and lured into an ambush, where he was shot dead on Pete Maxwell’s ranch on the evening of July 14.
Billy the Kid’s grave is located in Fort Sumner, New Mexico.