Starbucks Banff mug: Discovery Series
The Banff mug from Starbucks' Discovery Series sets the name in orange over a dark green circle, with a bighorn sheep, a mountain bike and a camper van. Hiking boots, a bear, a train, a raft and a campfire wrap around the other sides.
- Series
- Discovery Series
- Place
- Banff, Alberta, Canada
- Type
- Mug
- Released
- Not confirmed
- Capacity
- 14 fl ozstandard mug size
- SKU
- Not confirmed
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The railway workers who tried to claim Banff's hot springs
In the fall of 1883, three Canadian Pacific Railway workers came upon a steaming cave on the slope of Sulphur Mountain, in what is now Banff. William McCardell described it as “like some fantastic dream from a tale of the Arabian Nights” [1]. Parks Canada notes that they were not the first to find it, since people had lived in the valley for 10,000 years [1]. But McCardell, his brother Tom and their partner Frank McCabe saw profit in the water, so they fenced it off and built a log cabin by the entrance [1]. Then they wrote to the government to claim the springs [2]. The answer was no. The government needed revenue to finish the railroad west, and it saw tourists in the same water [2]. The quarrel became a legal fight, and in 1885 the government ended it by reserving 26 square kilometres around the cave [2]. In 1887 the reserve grew into Rocky Mountains National Park, the first in Canada [2]. The passenger train on the Banff mug (12) may be a train like the ones that put those three men on the mountain.
The mug does not label its drawings, so connecting this one to the story is our reading.
What's on the mug
- 1Lettering
BANFF in orange capitals over a dark green circle.
- 2Bighorn sheep
A blue-green bighorn sheep with curled red horns stands on top of the circle.
- 3Mountain bike
A yellow mountain bike leans across the lower part of the circle.
- 4Camper van
A yellow and green camper van with a roof rack sits at the lower left.
- 5Orange bear
An orange bear with darker spots stands at the left edge of the view.
- 6Rock peak
A yellow rock peak rises at the right of the circle.
- 7Hiking boots Side view
A red boot and a blue boot with yellow laces float side by side above a lake and forest.
- 8Bear on camper Side view
A bear stands on the roof rack of a camper van at the right of this side.
- 9Canoeist Side view
A person paddles a red canoe across a blue-striped river below the forest.
- 10Campfire Side view
An orange campfire burns at the left edge of this side.
- 11STARBUCKS wordmark Back view
The vertical STARBUCKS wordmark runs beside the handle on this side.
- 12Train Back view
A teal and blue passenger train curves across the lower part of this side below autumn trees.
- 13Raft Back view
Five people in orange life jackets paddle a yellow raft through white water.
The photos show a clean cut-out of the mug with no box, so the base is not visible. Release year, SKU and any retirement status are not confirmed.
Collector notes
- The inside of this mug is orange, which shows at the rim in the Front photo and matches the orange lettering.
- The camper van appears at the left of the Front view and again on the Side view with a bear standing on its roof, so the two photos show the same van from different angles.
Before you buy
The photos show the orange inside of the mug at the rim, and the camper van on the front appears again on the side, so those two views show the same drawing. Starbucks also made Banff in the Been There, Icon and You Are Here series, so check the series name before you buy.
