Maybe the 52 Topps Highs did get dumped?

[steve B]

I've always had mixed thoughts about this.

"Old" Inventory was often just shoved to the back of a warehouse back then. In fact it's a practice that continued well into the 80's and 90's although it had minimized by the early 80's. It was especially true for anything the warehouse guy thought might be saleable in some way.
Topps was also mostly in the business of selling new products, so they may not have cared much to have a look at the warehouse even if they were asked. (Or they knew 52 highs brought a premium and "couldn't find any" )

So the "dumped off a barge" didn't make a lot of sense.

But the story stayed pretty consistent over time, and 52 Highs are pretty hard to find compared to the lower series.

Since they weren't printing them themselves, I think it's possible they got a bunch in right about the time they realized sales weren't going to be what they'd hoped.
It's possible they didn't have the space to shift them to the back corner.
It also might be that what got dumped was sheets or bulk packed cards from the printer. Why wrap a product that won't sell? And storing sheets or boxes full of bulk cards might have been a nuisance.

In that view, dumping them makes sense. Having A million plus of something out there is a bit risky. Especially since trash haulers are fairly well known for keeping any really good "finds" - A long and for some well regarded tradition.

53s were hauled away? Maybe by then they realized that if they couldn't move their million+ leftovers almost nobody else could either?

I think it's possible something survived underwater. They were wax wrapped, and pressure might have caused them to seal ...........Well, I can dream anyway. (Possible but very unlikely) Barges tend to use the same spots, so there would be a whole lot of "stuff" to dig through even knowing the exact spot.

Steve B