While the majority of modern fresh from the tube bullion ASE's are graded MS69 or MS70, there's 3 important things to keep in mind: 1) the US Mint doesn't care at all that its bullion coins are in near perfect condition or not....I have seen many fresh from the tube ASE's in pretty bad condition (wouldn't grade even 68), 2) individuals who are sending in ASE's to get graded and slabbed by TPG's are typically being very selective in which coins they send in.
Those coins that do not pass the muster of the individual who considers which ASE's to send in and which to definitely not send in for grading don't get sent in for grading because it costs money for grading services and most collectors who sell coins already know that ASE's that grade 69 or below often sell for no more than a raw ASE that appears to be in (near) flawless condition - the expense is not worth sending in coins that can be observed to have minor imperfections. So, generally only the highest condition coins are being sent in for grading....and of these, a percentage come back in less than 69 graded condition, 3) looking at NGC's census for BU ASE's (
https://www.ngccoin.com/census/united-states/american-eagles-and-bullion-coins/76/ ), one can readily see than many (though certainly the minority) of those coins selectively chosen and sent in for grading grade at less than 69.
And as I've already pointed out, only the best of the best modern bullion coins are typically sent in for grading my most individuals and dealers outside of perhaps the largest couple or so dealers who may or may not send in unopened monster boxes of ASE's for bulk grading. So we can only imagine how poor the condition is of many of the bullion ASE's not sent in....atrocious condition for a coin fresh from the mint. But as I've also pointed out, the mint doesn't care one iota since these are bullion ASE's.
So, it's actually not a scam and it's not purely hype to have ASE's sent in for grading and to sell for a higher premium those that are graded 70. The collector market in the U.S. in general apparently doesn't think so either. And while few may argue that a 2015 MS70 ASE is rare (I certainly don't argue that), by no means should we ever suggest that all current ASE's produced are in either 69 or 70 condition (TPG graded or not). That's a significant distortion of the truth as explained above.
Another point to consider is that almost no BU CSML's (Canadian Silver Maple Leafs) have ever graded 70 since their inception in 1988. Only in 2015 was there a marked change in the number of CSML's that graded 70 by NGC. I'm not sure if this was due to quality control changes implemented at the RCM or protocol changes at NGC.
