CAN SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT THIS MEANS IF A COIN IS IN BU CONDITION WHAT CONDITION IS IT IN. I WAS THINK ABOUT BUYING SOME PENNIES OF THIS DEALER THAT ARE DENVER MINT 1961 D NEVER CIRCULATED WHAT CONDITION WHAT THESE BE CONSIDERED. THANK YOU

G = Good
F = Fine
AU = Almost Uncirculated
BU = Brilliant Uncirculated
MS = Mint State
MS70 = perfect

To me BU means Mint State with Lustre

As noted. Although some may say AU is About Uncirculated. Trivial and probably no difference.
Not sure about any difference between BU and MS either. Many dealers say BU instead of MS if they are from a long time ago when there was only Uncirculated and no such thing as Mint State.
Confused? Me too.

I would say that BU should mean MS63 or better Uncirculated and Brilliant
Needless to say that a several vendors call an MS60 a BU which it is not

It should be about the same as Choice Uncirculated or MS63 or better

FDC Fleur de Coin is another abused term . It should be MS65 or better but is abused from MS60 onwards

In Europe the most abused term is probably Bankfresh which means in condition as received by the bank which is MS60 and upwards
Mintfresh is supposed to be used for MS63 or better

But since hardly anybody can grade the terms really mean very little

You may find the grading section on my website interesting. Although British grading standards are stricter than US grading standards. It will give you an idea and teach you about some of the terminology used:

http://www.coinsgb.com/Grading.html

Imagine that. Someone noticed our grading standards can not compete with the British.
Just kidding you know.

We'll I'm not saying one is better than the other, and once you get used to the 70 point system its quite easy. The trouble arises when people buy an MS graded British coin and try to sell it for UNC British prices listed in something like Spink. The MS graded coin may only be an EF by British standards so not worth the price they think it is.

Its an old saying but buy the coin and not the number on the slab. If you learn to grade coins (which does take a while, and different people's opinions of a grade of a coin can be different at times) then you can really know if the sellers asking price or the grade he assigns to a coin is right.

A lot sellers on online auctions over grade their coins, thats were buying from a reputable dealer also helps.