At the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Illinois, an iconic stovepipe hat has become a symbol in a fierce public relations effort to save an expansive collection of Lincoln artifacts.

But now the question looms large: Was the stovepipe hat even Lincoln’s?

A private nonprofit that owns the $25 million collection, including the hat, is so deep in debt that it is considering selling some of the artifacts.

The group’s chief executive has warned that the hat, size 7⅛ and made of felted beaver fur, was moving “ever closer to the auction block,” along with other items, like Lincoln’s bloodstained gloves from the night of his assassination.

The foundation paid $6.5 million for the hat in 2007 as part of a larger purchase of Lincoln artifacts.