Starbucks Atlanta mug: Discovery Series

By The Starbucks Cups team · Last checked 2026-11-14 · How we make these pages

Starbucks Discovery Series Atlanta mug with a phoenix, a skyline, an oval racetrack and a race car around the word ATLANTA — Front view · numbered markers match the list below Show markers

The Atlanta Discovery Series mug puts ATLANTA on a green circle with a phoenix, a skyline, an oval speedway and yellow flowers. Around it: the gold-domed Georgia State Capitol, a DJ and boombox, a Peachtree St sign, SkyView Atlanta and a graffiti tunnel.

Series: Discovery Series
Place: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Type: Mug
Released: Not confirmed
Capacity: 14 fl ozstandard mug size
SKU: Not confirmed

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The city treasury that held $1.64 after Atlanta burned

On 15 November 1864, Union engineers began torching Atlanta, some of the buildings with explosive shells placed inside ^[1]. That night soldiers added unlicensed fires of their own, and much of downtown burned ^[1]. The army marched out the next morning. Residents who came back that winter found, according to the Georgia Encyclopedia, only $1.64 in worthless Confederate currency in the city treasury ^[2]. They rebuilt anyway, and fast ^[2]. By the 1880s the city had a seal: a bird rising from a bed of flames, with the word Resurgens above it and two dates, 1847 for the city's incorporation and 1865 ^[3]. It turns up on iron water-meter covers set into the sidewalk ^[3]. The phoenix at the left of the Atlanta mug (2) may be that bird.

The mug does not label its drawings, so connecting this one to the story is our reading.

What's on the mug

1
ATLANTA lettering
ATLANTA is printed in light blue capitals across a dark green circle, the centre of the front design.
2
Phoenix
A bird with blue, yellow and purple feathers rises at the left of the green circle, wings spread, with long trailing tail feathers; it also shows at the right edge of the side photo. Atlanta's city seal shows a phoenix rising from flames, the symbol of the city rebuilt after 1864. The mug doesn't name it or draw the seal itself.^[3]
3
Skyline
Four towers (pale blue, blue with a thin spire, red and dark blue) stand behind lower orange and yellow blocks on top of the circle, with purple, red and blue trees and curving blue bands below. The towers are too simplified to match to named buildings.
4
Oval racetrack, possibly Atlanta Motor Speedway
An oval track seen from above, with a long yellow grandstand along one side and buildings in the infield, sits at the upper right of the circle. It looks like a motor speedway rather than a stadium, and it may be Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, south of the city. The mug doesn't name it.^[7]
5
Red road and race car
A red road winds down from the oval track to a blue-and-yellow race car, with a small figure raising an arm at the top of the car. The mug doesn't say which race or driver, if any.
6
Yellow flowers, possibly dogwood blossoms
Large yellow flowers with four notched petals and a dotted centre sit below the lettering, with dark purple leaves. The four notched petals look like a dogwood blossom, the flower of Atlanta's spring Dogwood Festival in Piedmont Park, though they are drawn yellow. The mug doesn't name them.^[8]
7
DJ at turntables Side view
A DJ in headphones, a blue-and-yellow cap and a light blue shirt with striped sleeves works two turntables and a mixer on an orange mat. Part of him also shows at the right edge of the back photo. The mug doesn't name a DJ or a club.
8
Boombox Side view
An orange-red boombox with a yellow speaker on the left and a blue speaker on the right sits above and to the right of the DJ, with musical notes around it. Two antenna lines rise from it towards three rings (18).
9
Georgia State Capitol Side view
A pale yellow building with long windowed wings, a columned centre and a gold dome with a small white tip stands at the right of the side. The gold dome over a columned centre matches the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta, whose dome is covered in gold leaf. The mug doesn't name it.^[4]
10
Lake with autumn trees, possibly Lake Clara Meer Side view
A blue lake lined with red, blue and purple trees fills the top left of the side, with a small white columned building on the far shore. It may be Lake Clara Meer in Piedmont Park, but the building is too small to match to one on its shore. The mug doesn't name it.^[10]
11
STARBUCKS wordmark Back view
The STARBUCKS wordmark runs vertically beside the handle on this side.
12
Peachtree St NE sign Back view
A blue street sign reading Peachtree St NE stands on a purple post, with orange and yellow peaches beside it. Peachtree Street is the spine of downtown and Midtown, where the city's tallest buildings stand.^[2]
13
Street with cars and walkers Back view
Two cars drive along a street with blue, orange and yellow striped edges, while small figures walk and jog beside it. The street is not named.
14
Plate of fried chicken and sides Back view
A purple plate holds golden pieces that look like fried chicken, a yellow mound that looks like macaroni and cheese and green beans drawn in blue, with a small bowl of dark sauce beside them. The mug doesn't name a dish or restaurant.
15
SkyView Atlanta Ferris wheel Back view
A white Ferris wheel with cars around the rim rises behind orange, blue and purple trees at the right of the back; it also shows at the left edge of the side photo. A Ferris wheel standing over ring-shaped fountain pools (17) matches SkyView Atlanta, the wheel across the street from Centennial Olympic Park. The mug doesn't name it.^[5]^[6]
16
Graffiti tunnel, possibly the Krog Street Tunnel Back view
A blue framed opening with arches inside is filled with painted graffiti: the word LOVE, a smiley face and a peace sign, with small red lettering below. It looks like the Krog Street Tunnel, a road tunnel known for its street art, but the small lettering is not legible. The mug doesn't name it.^[9]
17
Fountain pools, possibly the Fountain of Rings Back view
Below the Ferris wheel, five blue oval pools on an orange plaza send up thin jets of water. Five ring-shaped pools next to the wheel may be the Fountain of Rings in Centennial Olympic Park, though the rings are not drawn interlocking. The mug doesn't name it.^[6]
18
Three rings above the boombox Side view
Three rings in orange, red and pale yellow float above the boombox, one with a bite taken out of it. They look like doughnuts, but the mug gives no name or brand.

The three photos together cover most of the outside of the mug. The area behind the handle is out of view.

Collector notes

The inside rim is yellow-orange, which shows at the top of the side and back photos.
The DJ and the boombox are on the side photo and the Peachtree St sign is on the back photo, so a front-only listing photo shows neither.

Before you buy

A front-only listing photo hides the DJ and boombox (side) and the Peachtree St sign (back); the inside rim is yellow-orange. Our checklist also lists Atlanta in the Been There, Icon and You Are Here series, so check the drawings before you order.