UNC, BU, MS, FDC, PROOF explained

As if coin collecting wasn't hard enough, new collectors are often confused by a multitude of terms which appear to mean the same thing. It's common to see the terms used incorrectly, even by experienced collectors. At best it can lead to mild embarrassment, at worst it can be misleading to a potential swap partner. So let's try to clear up the confusion a little.

PROOF - Let's deal with the easy one first. "Proof" refers to the method used to manufacture a coin and has nothing to do with it's current condition. To use "proof" is just as incorrect as saying "this coin is in Milled grade". Sounds silly I know but it's one of the most commonly made mistakes. The correct term is FDC (Fleur de Coin / Flower of a coin) for a proof coin in it's original state. Sadly this beautiful term has fallen into disuse and UNC or MS are used instead. The Sheldon Scale uses the PF abbreviation for the same purposes and the scale matches the MS 60-70 used for business strikes. Although proofs are not intended for circulation they do frequently escape into the wild or suffer wear and tear due to poor handling. These coins are described as impaired proofs and are usually given a VG-AU grade which makes the impaired proof term redundant.

UNC / MS - Uncirculated and Mint State. UNC is used in the descriptive grading system and MS by the Sheldon scale but the terms are interchangeable and mean exactly the same thing. It's also a rare example of the Sheldon scale making more sense than the European system. A coin leaves the mint, is put into a cashiers tray and is given to Mr Nightingale in change who happily separates it and puts it in his pocket. Technically the coin has circulated from the mint to the bank to the store to me. Purists will argue that it can't then be UNC despite the fact that it shows no signs of wear. That's why MS is more suitable.

BU - Absolutely misunderstood. The term used to apply to copper/bronze coins only. Uncirculated silver or copper nickel coins have a very pleasing cartwheel effect when they retain most of the original lustre but the color of the coin remains unchanged until it develops a nice tone many years later. A copper or bronze coin on the other hand very quickly turns from a shiny red to a dull brown. Hence the term BU was adopted to indicate a coin which still had a large percentage of it's original shine. Today the term is used to describe any type of coin.

This is my understanding of how the terms should be used and it's quite possible that others may have a different view. Feel free to contribute.

Now if we could just stop Americans from describing EF / Extremely Fine coins as Extra Fine / XF I'd be very happy

In France we don't see things like this: FDC ("fleur de coin") is similar with BU ("Brilliant Uncirculated" / "Brillant Universel"). As I remember French modern coinage, BU appeared in 1986 only, exactly as an equivalent of FDC which was the initial coin set type but which has been discontinued in 1990 as FDC & BU are similar. The only bad thing with this switch was that formet FDC sets contained all commemoratives, unlike BU sets till now. We have to make coin cards to find BU commemoratives since then.  In France "Proof" in now the equivalent of "Belle épreuve" or BE, which replaced the FDC set with no more commemos.

And, as this answer is not simply French-centered, this abbreviation is still in use in Italian-language countries, as a simple translation: "Fior di Conio", but still as an equivalent of BU, not Proof.

Still learning!

When I visit Portugal, where I do often buy coins, I do usually hear terms as:
BC/Bem Conservada= in good state (VG)
B/Bela= Beautiful (XF)
MB/Muito  bem conservada= Perfectly conserved/wonderful (AU)
FC/ Flor de cunho= FDC

So to see, every single country has it's own definitions to express the same.

Really helpful post, I am one of those who experience the mild embarrassment now and then  

I got two wrong.

BU I thought is a coin of any metal that looks like it has never been touched by human hands (apart from mint-bank-pocket)

MS I am the same as your explanation thankfully  

Proof I am not on the same wavelength it seems, I thought Proof was a polished die and other treatments to produce a "Frosted" detail to design with a black mirror finish, making the design "Pop"


Great valuable info for the novice collector like myself. Thanks for taking the time to post this Phil

Should add:

Prooflike: A mix between Proof and Matte surfaces.

Matte: Opaque finish that shouldn't sparkle.

Antique finish: Style of finish made so that the coin looks like 100+ years old with full darkened patina.

These 3 fall under the Proof grading as it is a finish type more than a grade but are important as well.

The guide on Numista here is good and is worth a read or two.

As far as I know are BU or FDC set coins just better treated normal "massproduction" coins.
The die pressure is set a bit higher, the output frequency much lower, dies are maintained more often and they are not send down metal slides into a pile of other coins.
Then there are the special issues that are minted maybe 5 per minute which are put in and taken out of the minting press per hand and controlled for flaws e.g. American eagles bullion or most proof coins.

Thank you, excellent additions so far.

I've never heard of an antique finish before. It sounds like something they would do in China's Big Tree coin factory after they finish ageing their fake coins in tumble dyers.

When I wrote it was purely from a British and American perspective so it's useful to see the terms used in other parts of the world.

Απόσπασμα: pnightingaleThank you, excellent additions so far.

I've never heard of an antique finish before. It sounds like something they would do in China's Big Tree coin factory after they finish ageing their fake coins in tumble dyers.

When I wrote it was purely from a British and American perspective so it's useful to see the terms used in other parts of the world.

I own two coins from Poland that where made with antique finish, from Mint. So it isn't just a counterfeit finish. It looks really nice and you can tell it isn't natural ageing (the patina is too perfect):

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces28771.html
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces28821.html

There are other countries that work that type of finish, I think Belarus has plenty of them.

Tokelau has recently issued a whole bunch of silver bullion with various finishes including antique.

https://www.google.com/search?q=tokelau+antique+silver&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0CB4QsARqFQoTCLvr0JykksYCFcs7rAodqKsMdA&biw=1280&bih=904

Let me add some terminology (and confusion) used in Canada. Most of this information is from Royal Canadian Mint and concerns modern coinage only.
Proof - special issue with low mintage, polished dyes, coin is minted in 2 strikes (not a single strike as for the circulation coins), only manual handling, very rigorous quality control.
PL (proof-like) is simply "creme de la creme" of the ordinary business strike - PL coins are minted on the brand new dyes with more gentle handling (no bags!) and are finally sealed by mint in to plastic blisters.  Usually sold as a yearly set of the regular coinage (for ridiculous price) or in sets of 10 for face value (for Canadian residents only and you have to order it directly from mint).
Coins from rolls are often called BU (brilliant uncirculated).
There is also something called "specimen" but don't ask me what in a heck they mean by this - my uneducated guess is that it is (probably) something between proof and proof-like. For example, for some years there are both specimen and proof variants of the same KM - proof has frosted design on the mirror background  whereas specimen has glossy design on the frosted background...  

Hi,
This is a great information about quality of coins.
It would be even more helpful to have a list from all countries with there grading compare to each other.
When UNC is like MS60 and Proof is like MS70 what are the Numbers from 61 to 69. Can somebody really see the difference?

The Specimen/SPEC/SP designation is used for coins not intended for circulation. The coins are double-struck using higher-quality dies to produce sharper images, higher luster, and may have matte or similar granular surface. Plus, they are handled with a lot more care, so they don't have contact marks that are so common for coins distributed in bags or even rolls.

Canada issues quite a few coins SP coins, including their famous 1 oz Maple Leaf silver bullion and the $20 for $20 series.

@wolfgang-s -- this should hopefully answer your question https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheldon_coin_grading_scale

Here you can see our coins in the making, from our currency ones, to the Proof ones, and how they are handled:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4dUIoDL5v8

At 4:05 you can actually see the proof ones get up to 5 strikes per piece.

Απόσπασμα: erdvillaHere you can see our coins in the making, from our currency ones, to the Proof ones, and how they are handled:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4dUIoDL5v8

At 4:05 you can actually see the proof ones get up to 5 strikes per piece.

Is there a version with English commentary?

Απόσπασμα: Houseofham

Απόσπασμα: erdvillaHere you can see our coins in the making, from our currency ones, to the Proof ones, and how they are handled:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4dUIoDL5v8

At 4:05 you can actually see the proof ones get up to 5 strikes per piece.

Is there a version with English commentary?

Nope. But should be too hard to figure out with the images. YT does provide CC subtitles for it, just enable them.