Spilt Wine

27. Of Coins and Cod

We had decided to head up the canal to the quai in Aiserey, where we had paused earlier on our way to Catherine's introduction to Vrouwe Catharina.

"Less than ten kilometres to go," Catherine said as we motored out of the lock and into the basin of Saint-Usage. "We've just passed PK 242, and PK 232 is across from the quai."

I smiled and complimented my budding navigator, then I said, "We learned early on in our naval training not to steer a course of 232º, and to avoid the number elsewhere if possible. Among the many forms we had to carry aboard ship was DNS-232 - Report of Collision or Grounding. Out of superstition, any use of 232 was to be avoided."

"Let's carry on above the lock, then. Moor along the bank. Or stop on the bank short of the bourne. We don't need to tempt fate."

"We'll make only two more locks before lunch, anyway, so we'll have lots of time to decide as we pause."

Catherine nodded. "Yes, I'm sure the locks still close midday for lunch as they did in 1967 – the same as everything else does in France. What time do they close here?"

"The break on the Bourgogne is twelve thirty to thirteen thirty. We can easily be through the Brazey lock before they close, but making the Port Hémery will be tight. Besides, there's one more lock above it before Aiserey, so it makes no sense to even try."

"What is Brazey like as a stop?"

"I have no idea, but we'll know when we get there. Let's plan on stopping there for lunch and see if we want to continue or stay for the night."

There was no traffic on the canal to delay us, and we were above the Brazey lock shortly past twelve ten. I pulled to the right bank a short distance out of the lock, and we moored to a pair of old stone bollards there.

"This is a delightful spot," Catherine said as she turned the end of the bow line into a coil. "It must be lovely in the summer with leaves on the trees, a cool, shady tunnel through the overhanging branches. Can we stay here tonight?"

"I don't see why not. I can walk into town, there must be a phone booth close, where I can call the Gendarmerie in Gevrey and update our location. There may even be a Gendarmerie here in town."

"We can, David – we can go take a look. We can have lunch when we get back. I'm not hungry yet from that huge breakfast you prepared." She swayed her back and glanced down. "Not all of this is the baby, I'll have you know."

"I keep forgetting you're pregnant."

Following a casual mid-afternoon lunch, we settled back into the settee cushions to relax. After a quiet interlude, Catherine asked, "Do you still search for coins?"

"I've never stopped, but I don't search through rolls anymore. Stopped that when the last of the silver disappeared from circulation in the '70s. I had gathered all the silver as its value quickly rose to face value and above, and I hoarded it. At the end of December 1979 when I sensed the price of silver bullion had risen too far, I sold my hoard at close to thirty times face value. I now focus on finding abandoned Canadian coins in foreign countries."

"Abandoned Canadian coins? I think you've lost me again."

"What do you do with your Swiss Francs, your Italian Lire, your pocket change when you come back from a trip?"

"I travelled a lot before I met Louis. I love travelling, exploring." She blew out a deep sigh. "I had little bags to keep leftover coins in when I crossed the borders. Saved them for the next time I visited. I still have a lot of ... Aha! Abandoned coins, now I see."

"I began searching for Canadian coins that had come back to Europe from travels many decades before. Old Canadian coins are among the scarcest in the world. We had a small population, and the mintages were low. We used the coins heavily, wearing them down to smooth discs until they were culled by the banks and sent to Ottawa for melting and re-striking. Uncirculated Canadian coins of Queen Victoria are rare; some dates are unknown in any of the higher grades." I smiled at her apparent continuing interest.

"Abandoned pocket change has stopped circulating, it has stopped being abused and worn smooth, so I started to ferret it out when I first arrived in France in 1966. I ended up with a large accumulation of high-grade coins, some of them now still among the finest known to collectors. They're mostly common dates, but they're what a few serious collectors now refer to as condition-rare."

"And where did you look?"

"I started with the coin shops in Metz and Nancy, then in Luxembourg, which was quite near. Then in the puces, brocantes and in the street markets. Many of my better finds were from small-town street markets – affairs that were like a whole-community garage sale. Of course, not everyone had coins, and the few who did rarely had any Canadian, but it was entertaining and well worth the time and effort." I gazed into her eyes to see was still interested.

"But there wasn't much travel back and forth between France and Canada in the 1800s. I tried to imagine from where most travelers would come. I went to coastal Portugal and struck it rich –"

"Portugal? Okay, this is another of your stumpers, isn't it?"

"Fishing the Grand Banks off Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. The Portuguese are fanatics for cod, and there was a steady stream of their ships crossing the North Atlantic for the great cod fishing there. I figured they surely put into Saint John's or Halifax or other east coast ports for water and crew break, or even to hide from a storm. Fishing the Grand Banks wasn't easy. The crew would bring unspent change aboard, then tuck it away when they got back to Portugal."

"Like I always did, tuck it away." She laughed. "I'd often misplace or forget my little stashes before I travelled again. I still have most of it. All tucked away, God knows where."

"Many of those little stashes eventually make their way to the flea markets, knick-knack shops and so on."

"Who else would relate coins to cod fishing?" She looked at me and shook her head. "You're really weird. I like weird. Reminds me so much of me."

"That weirdness allowed me to fish up many high-grade coins, both Newfoundland and Canadian. Some of them are still the finest known survivors of their date. I'll probably have to set up as a coin dealer sometime and start selling them."