BU versus Proof  At the show this weekend, we had a gentleman
looking for a XXVI Olympiad Tennis Commemorative Dollar. When
asked which he wanted, BU or Proof, he was not sure and wanted
to know the difference.  First, let’s talk about the difference
between BU and Proof. BU is short for uncirculated (brilliant
uncirculated) coins.  One might ask, well, commemoratives are
not released to the public so why aren’t they all uncirculated?
That’s true. Even though commemoratives are legal tender, they
do not get circulated. Their value is much higher for their
collectability rather than their worth as spendable coinage.
But, the difference in uncirculated and proof – at least in the
1995/1996 timeframes when these coins were minted – shows in how
the mint struck the coins. Uncirculated coins in that timeframe
were minted and treated like the coins for circulation, but they
were packaged in protective coin holders before being sold.
Thus, they were “uncirculated” meaning they weren’t bagged with
other coins with