What's the difference between BU and MS?

MajorDuty

A brilliantly uncirculated coin is in fact still in mint state, is it not? So, what technically is the difference?

Dennis88

IMHO BU is ms63+++

klorineforbrains

One starts with a B and the other with a M.

OKbustchaser

How long ago it was dipped.

Jim

cladking

There is no practical difference except that a BU coin should be shiny and MS may not be.

MS has taken on some new meanings with the advent of third party grading and the term
"BU" never was well defined.

relayer

Just Semantics.

A mint state coin can be in a number of different conditions.

A Brilliant Uncirculated coin is really the same as Uncirculated with some "brillance" left over.

In the old days there was Uncirculated, Brilliant Uncirculated, Choice Unc, Gem BU

MajorDuty

Very good. Thank you. ;-)

sellsatan

I can't recall offhand where I read it, but it seems to me I once saw it listed like so:

UNC = MS60 - MS62
BU = MS63 - MS64
GEM BU = MS65+

Of course those are all rough approximations being as the terminology is a hold over from the days before third party grading.

oreville

relayer has it right.

Back in the 1960's when coin collectors "hated" the US Mint (and were indeed the "evil hoarders" in the eyes of the US Mint) we dared not use the word MINT state let alone use the word MINT in anything we wrote or said!!!!

Actually I do not recall the term mint state until the mid to late 1970's when the hobby began to realize that mint state was a better term to describe uncirculated since uncirculated had been so corrupted in usage to mean less than choice BU coins.

oreville

sellsatan:

Wrong.

Uncirculated or BU was MS-60/61/62

Choice Uncirculated or Choice BU MS-63 or MS-64

Gem Uncirculated or Gem BU MS-65

MS-66 was sometimes called Gem BU or Gem Unc. Sometimes superb Gem.

Superb Gem Uncirculated or BU was MS-67.

MS-68 and above were miracle coins.

rocketmangb

Please contact the " Coin Vault "

291fifth

Weiss

About $150.

INXS

<< <i>Please contact the " Coin Vault " >>



Yeah, "brillant uncirculated gem BU"???? I guess they are covered.

LeeG

PCGS Definition listed under "lingo":

Brilliant Uncirculated
A generic term applied to any coin that has not been in circulation. It often is applied to coins with little "brilliance" left, which properly should be described as simply Uncirculated.


Mint State
The term corresponding to the numerical grades MS-60 through MS-70, used to denote a business strike coin that never has been in circulation. A Mint State coin can range from one that is covered with marks (MS-60) to a flawless example (MS-70).

MajorDuty

That pretty much sums it up I think. Thank you folks!

orie

Thanks relayer. I've heard those discriptions, but you lined it up.

LindeDad

I'm going to go way back to when I started collecting, with the way it was explained to me.
Any MS coin then came from a mint set.
BU coins where from the bags or rolls.
I know this is no longer true but I think that is where the terms came from.

LanLord

<< <i>How long ago it was dipped.

Jim >>

Jim has it just about right!