Starbucks San Diego mug: Been There Series

By The Starbucks Cups team · Last checked 2026-11-15 · How we make these pages

Starbucks Been There Series San Diego mug with San Diego in blue script, a bicycle, a taco, a beer glass and a pale turquoise inside — Front view · numbered markers match the list below Show markers

The second Been There Series San Diego mug, with AMERICA'S FINEST CITY on the back: San Diego in script, the Gaslamp Quarter archway and bicycle, the Coronado bridge, the Old Point Loma lighthouse, a taco, a beer glass, a racehorse and a fighter jet.

Series: Been There Series
Place: San Diego, California, USA
Type: Mug
Released: Not confirmed
Capacity: Not confirmed
SKU: Not confirmed

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What's on the mug

1
San Diego lettering
San Diego is written in dark blue hand-drawn script across the upper front, with scribbled shading inside the letters.
2
Jet and clouds
A jet drawn in thin outline, with swept-back wings and a tall tail fin, flies across the top of the front between outlined clouds.
3
Gaslamp Quarter archway and bicycle
A road bicycle with a blue-grey frame stands under a gateway: two tall posts with pointed tops, a curved blue band with a small oval medallion at its centre, curling scrollwork and a pale blue crest on top. That combination matches the Gaslamp Quarter Archway over Fifth Avenue downtown, which has finial-topped posts, a central round medallion on its curved band, scrolls and a cartouche on top. The drawn crest and band carry no lettering, and the mug doesn't name it.^[1]^[2]
4
Beach ball
A pale blue beach ball with an orange stripe floats just above the left side of the archway's crest.
5
Beer glass with hops
A glass of orange beer with a white foam top and a small green sprig of hops sits at the left of the front.
6
Taco
A taco with an orange shell and green filling sits at the lower left of the front; its edge also shows at the right of the side photo.
7
Sun
An orange sun with long spiky rays sits at the right of the front, above the lighthouse.
8
Palm tree Side view
A tall pale blue palm tree stands at the left of the side, with two hop cones beside its trunk. The same palm shows at the right edge of the back photo, next to the surfboard.
9
Blue racehorse Side view
A blue horse with a white saddle cloth gallops to the right across the middle of the side. The saddle cloth makes it look like a racehorse, so it may stand for racing at the Del Mar Racetrack north of the city. The mug doesn't name it.^[9]
10
Arched bridge that looks like the Cabrillo Bridge Side view
A pale teal bridge deck on a row of five arches runs between two blue arched gateways, with an orange square tower behind each gateway and small trees and a sun between them. It looks like the Cabrillo Bridge, the many-arched bridge into Balboa Park, though the real bridge has seven arches and the towers are simplified. Its left end also shows at the left edge of the front photo. The mug doesn't name it.^[6]
11
Sailboat Side view
A small boat with an orange sail floats at the bottom of the side, over a few wavy lines.
12
STARBUCKS Back view
STARBUCKS is printed vertically in dark capitals just beside the handle.
13
San Diego-Coronado Bridge Back view
An orange-brown bridge on four tall piers sweeps across the top of the back and bends as it goes, above wavy water lines. With CORONADO ISLAND printed below, this is the San Diego-Coronado Bridge, which was built on a curved path across San Diego Bay. The drawing shows only four piers.^[5]
14
Blue fighter jet Back view
A blue jet with two tail fins climbs straight up with short exhaust lines beneath it, left of the words AMERICA'S FINEST CITY and beside a small palm tree. It looks like a navy fighter and is probably a nod to Naval Air Station North Island on Coronado. The mug doesn't name the aircraft.^[8]
15
Pail and spade Back view
A pale blue pail with a handle and an orange spade stands below the words AMERICA'S FINEST CITY.
16
CORONADO ISLAND Back view
A row of small houses with blue roofs, with a palm tree at each end, sits above the printed words CORONADO ISLAND.
17
Surfboard Back view
A tall white surfboard with an orange wave across its middle stands at the right of the back.
18
Old Point Loma Lighthouse
A small house with a blue roof has a tower rising from the middle of the roof, topped by a lantern with light rays around it, at the lower right of the front. That layout matches the Old Point Loma Lighthouse on Point Loma, a Cape Cod style house with its tower centred in the dwelling. The mug doesn't name it.^[3]^[4]
19
Seal on a rock
A pale blue seal or sea lion sits upright on a rock at the top right of the front, next to the handle, with small curling waves beside it. It may refer to the harbor seals that use the beach at the Children's Pool in La Jolla. The mug doesn't name it.^[7]
20
Seal Side view
A second pale seal sits on the ground at the bottom of the side, below the tree. Like the one on the front, it may refer to La Jolla's harbor seals.^[7]
21
Walled pool that may be the Children's Pool Side view
A patch of pale blue water is held in by a curving wall with a railing of posts along its top, with a zigzag line below. It resembles the Children's Pool in La Jolla, a beach sheltered behind a curved wall where harbor seals gather. It also shows at the lower right of the back photo. The mug doesn't name it.^[7]
22
Broad pale blue tree Side view
A tree with a straight white trunk and a wide, flat, pale blue crown stands in the lower middle of the side. Its left half also shows at the left edge of the front photo.
23
Starbucks iced drink Side view
A clear cup with a green dot logo, a domed top of whipped cream and a straw stands between the palm tree and the bridge at the top of the side.
24
AMERICA'S FINEST CITY Back view
The words AMERICA'S FINEST CITY are printed in dark blue capitals on two lines in the middle of the back. The first Been There San Diego entry reads AMERICAS FINEST CITY IN MOTION here.
25
Hop cones Back view
Two hop cones, one dark blue and one pale, sit between the surfboard and the palm tree on the back, like the hop sprig on the front's beer glass. These are the same hop cones as in element 8, seen again on the back.

None of the three photos shows the underside of the mug, so we can't read any stamp or SKU on it.

Collector notes

This is the second of two Been There San Diego entries on our checklist. Its front and side drawings match the first one, but the words on the back differ: this mug reads AMERICA'S FINEST CITY, with an apostrophe, where the first reads AMERICAS FINEST CITY IN MOTION.
Every photo of this mug shows a pale turquoise inside. The photos of the first version do not show the inside, so we can't say whether that differs too. The underside is not shown in either set.
To tell the two apart, read the words on the back between the bridge and the surfboard: AMERICA'S FINEST CITY is this version, AMERICAS FINEST CITY IN MOTION is the first. A photo of the front or side alone won't tell you which one you are getting.