Feedback Requested Regarding Adjectival Grades For Uncirculated Coins

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Adjectival Grades for Uncirculated Coins
Coin dealers and individual coin collectors frequently use the terms Brilliant Uncirculated (often abbreviated as BU), Choice, Select, and Gem to describe Uncirculated (mint state) grades.[13] Some numismatists argue that an unscrupulous subset of coin dealers mislead customers by using such terms.[14] Although an official guide does not exist for adjectival grades, there appears to be at least a moderate degree of consensus[15][16][17][18][19][20] in the numismatic community for the following definitions:

Commonly Used (but unofficial) Adjectival Grades

Adjectival Grade | Equivalent Numerical Grade
Uncirculated | MS-60, MS-61, MS-62 [y]
Select or Choice Uncirculated | MS-63
Choice Uncirculated | MS-63, MS-64
Gem Uncirculated | MS-65, MS-66
Superb Gem Uncirculated | MS-67, MS-68, MS-69
Perfect Uncirculated | MS-70

However, bear in mind that simply because a coin dealer, for example, indicates that a coin "grades Gem Uncirculated" that does not necessarily mean that if the coin was submitted to one of the coin grading companies that the grading company would grade the coin as MS-65 or MS-66.

Endnotes
y. One might see the term Brilliant Uncirculated referring to coins in the MS-60 to MS-62 range, although PCGS defines Brilliant Uncirculated as 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.[16] And David Enders indicates that Brilliant Uncirculated should refer to a coin "... which has not been circulated and which still retains the majority of its original mint luster", and he adds, "sometimes 'Uncirculated' and 'Brilliant Uncirculated' are used interchangeably. However 'Brilliant' would not be applied to a coin which has significant defects impairing its eye appeal or which is lacking in luster."[18]

Footnotes
13. "Coin Grading Tutorial". coins.ha.com. Retrieved 2013-12-21.

14. Reynolds, Greg (2011-04-20). "The Advertising of 'Choice' or 'Gem' Uncertified Coins". CoinWeek. CoinWeek, LLC. Retrieved 2017-08-18. I am concerned that some advertisers in widely read 'print' coin publications are selling uncertified coins as 'Choice' (implied or thought to be MS-63 or higher), Very Choice (thought to grade MS-64), or Gem Uncirculated (thought to be MS-65 or higher) that do NOT come close to qualifying for such grades.

15. Headley, Susan (May 18, 2017). "What Is a "BU" Coin?". The Spruce. Retrieved August 18, 2017. Common adjective grading usually maps to the following Mint State grades: Uncirculated (MS-60, MS-61, MS-62): A technically uncirculated coin with abundant and noticeable defects such as bag marks and scrapes. It is usually accompanied by a poor strike and dull mint luster. Select Uncirculated (MS-63): An uncirculated coin with fewer deficiencies and better eye appeal been lower Mint State grades. Choice Uncirculated (MS-64): These coins have moderate distracting bag marks and/or very few, but noticeable, light scratches due to handling. Eye appeal will be good, but not outstanding. Gem Uncirculated (MS-65, MS-66): any uncirculated coin with only minor and light distracting marks or imperfections. Strike and eye appeal will be above average for the coin type.

16. "Coin collecting terms, slang, glossary". PCGS.com. Professional Coin Grading Service. Retrieved August 18, 2017. Choice Uncirculated - An Uncirculated coin grading MS-63 or MS-64. ... Gem Uncirculated - The adjectival equivalent of Mint State 65 or 66.

17. "BU (BRILLIANT UNCIRCULATED) / MINT STATE". GoldBroker.com. FDR Capital LLC. Retrieved August 18, 2017. Uncirculated MS-60 ... Uncirculated MS-61 ... Uncirculated MS-62 ... Select Uncirculated MS-63 ... Choice Uncirculated MS-64 ... Gem Uncirculated MS-65 ... Gem Uncirculated MS-66 ... .

18. Enders, David. "Glossary". Dave's Collectible Coins. Retrieved August 18, 2017. Sheldon Scale - The modern numerical grading scale used for grading coins. The scale was created by American numismatist Dr. William H. Sheldon in 1949. This scale has become widely known and firmly accepted as the standard for coin grading in the US. The scale runs from 1 to 70 as follows: ... MS-60 - Uncirculated, ... MS-63 - Choice Uncirculated ... MS-65 - Gem Uncirculated ... MS-67 - Superb Gem Uncirculated

19. "What is an Adjectival Grade?". NGC.com. Numismatic Guarantee Corporation. Retrieved August 18, 2017. UNCIRCULATED is often paired with the additional qualifiers of BRILLIANT, CHOICE, or GEM. NGC considers BRILLIANT UNCIRCULATED to be any coins that would grade from 60-70 on the Sheldon Grading Scale. CHOICE UNCIRCULATED is considered to be any coins that would grade from 63 to 70 and GEM UNCIRCULATED is used for coins that would grade from 65 to 70.

20. "Coin Grading Tutorial". Heritage Auctions. Retrieved August 19, 2017. Coins with no wear at all are alternately referred to as Uncirculated (Unc.), Brilliant Uncirculated (BU), and Mint State (MS). ... It is important to note that Uncirculated and similar terms refer only to the fact that the coin has no wear. The presence or absence of bagmarks, toning (discoloration), or a strong strike does not affect a coin's Uncirculated status, although such things can affect the numerical grade of the coin. ... Uncirculated (MS-60, 61, 62) ... Although most price guides will give a price for coins in MS-60 condition, in many cases this is a very unusual grade, with typical uncirculated pieces often grading somewhere in the MS-62 to MS-64 range depending on the series. Select Uncirculated (MS-63) ... Choice Uncirculated (MS-64) ... Choice Uncirculated is sometimes used to refer to a coin grading MS-63. Gem Uncirculated (MS-65, 66) ... Superb Gem Uncirculated (MS-67, 68, 69) ... Perfect Uncirculated (MS-70): An utterly flawless coin.

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I prefer the British grading system...

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... glad you emphasized that BU is a completely arbitrary term, although it might be expressed even more forcefully ...

Ah, excellent point. I will be thinking about how to best do that. I have it in an endnote, but it would be best to have it in the main text too.

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Coin dealers and individual coin collectors often use adjectives--with or without an accompanying Sheldon numerical code--to describe an uncirculated coin's grade. The term Brilliant Uncirculated (often abbreviated as BU) is probably the most common--and the most ambiguous--of such adjectives.[13][14] While Brilliant Uncirculated (BU) ought to refer to an uncirculated coin that retains its original mint luster, some equate BU with Uncirculated, i.e., they might refer to an MS-60 coin with little or no effulgence as Brilliant Uncirculated.

References
13. "How United States coins are Graded". http://www.PCGS.com. Collectors Universe, Inc. June 12, 1995. Retrieved August 22, 2017. "... the designation BU (Brilliant Uncirculated) is frequently used to describe uncirculated coins. Because of the absence of a numerical grade, this term is ambiguous at best. Often, coins that are offered as BU may in reality be AU (About Uncirculated) by strict definition."

14. Enders, David. "Glossary". DavesCollectibleCoins.com. Retrieved August 21, 2017. "Brilliant Uncirculated - Refers to a coin which has not been circulated and which still retains the majority of its original mint luster. Sometimes 'Uncirculated' and 'Brilliant Uncirculated' are used interchangeably. However 'Brilliant' [should] not be applied to a coin which has significant defects impairing its eye appeal or which is lacking in luster."

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Sometimes coin sellers apply the term Brilliant Uncirculated coins in the MS-60 to MS-62 range, which may or may not be accurate depending on how one defines Brilliant Uncirculated (as noted earlier). For example, PCGS defines Brilliant Uncirculated as 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.[17] And Susan Headley notes that a "... BU coin ... generally falls into the lowest MS grades [MS-60, MS-61, and MS-63] on the Sheldon scale.[16]