It was the lost treasure in the philatelic world -- the only known envelope bearing a 90-cent Abraham Lincoln stamp from 1869.

For years, collectors assumed the envelope, or cover, as it's known in the stamp world, had been destroyed sometime after it was stolen from a home in Indianapolis in 1967. Then, a month ago, a couple casually walked it into a Chicago stamp shop, and ever since, collectors have been salivating at the prospect of getting their hands on the artifact.

A San Jose attorney, who has one of the most comprehensive assemblages of 1869 postal history, says he believes he has a guarantee dating back nearly three decades that would grant him first dibs. The problem is that his proof is Duane Garrett, a Democratic political strategist who threw himself off the Golden Gate Bridge more than 10 years ago.