Starbucks Michigan mug: Discovery Series

By The Starbucks Cups team · Last checked 2026-10-08 · How we make these pages

Starbucks Discovery Series Michigan mug with a ferry, a vintage car, a cherry picker and a fawn around the word MICHIGAN — Front view · numbered markers match the list below Show markers

The Michigan mug from Starbucks' Discovery Series sets the state name in light blue over a dark green circle, with a ferry, a vintage car, a cherry picker and a fawn. A suspension bridge, a turtle, a boat and a robin fill the other sides.

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

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The first car on Mackinac Island arrived by ferry

In 1898 the first horseless carriage reached Mackinac Island on a ferry boat ^[1]. According to Mackinac State Historic Parks, its first encounter with the island's horses was chaotic. Carriage businessmen filed a formal petition with the village council, and a resolution answering it was made the same day ^[1]. The ban took effect on July 6, 1898 ^[2]. Two years later a summer resident named Earl C. Anthony decided to ignore the rule and brought a steam-powered Locomobile over ^[3]. It reportedly startled and even injured horses, and some carriages crashed ^[4]. In 1901 the state park commission banned automobiles in the park as well ^[1]. The island has been car free ever since ^[2]. The ferry on the Michigan mug (2) may be the kind of boat that brought that first car across.

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

What's on the mug

1
Lettering
MICHIGAN in light blue capitals over a dark green circle.
2
Ferry
The open upper deck of a ferry, with passengers at the rail, sits above the lettering.
3
Vintage car
A green vintage car with red-spoked wheels sits at the lower left.
4
Cherry picker
A person in a red-striped dress and a wide hat reaches into a tree full of red cherries at the right of the lettering.
5
Fawn
A blue spotted fawn stands beside the cherry picker.
6
Basket of cherries
A basket of red cherries hangs below the picker's arm.
7
Envelopes Side view
Three envelopes in teal, red and cream with stamps fly across the top of the side.
8
Suspension bridge Side view
A suspension bridge with two tall towers crosses blue water at the lower left of the side.
9
Turtle on a car Side view
A turtle with a patterned shell sits on the roof of a green vintage car.
10
Red-breasted bird Side view
A bird with a dark head and a red breast perches at the left of the side.
11
Lake outline Back view
A teal outline of lakes spreads across the middle of the back.
12
Tugboat Back view
A dark blue-and-red boat with a small cabin crosses the lake outline.
13
Robin Back view
A bird with a red breast and blue wings perches on a railing at the right of the back.
14
Cake stand Back view
A red cake stand holds a dark dessert at the base of the back.

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 of this mug is blue-green, which shows at the rim in the side and back photos.
The cherry picker and the fawn are on the front, the suspension bridge and the turtle on the side, and the lake outline and the boat on the back.

Before you buy

The three photos leave out the area behind the handle. The inside is blue-green. Michigan also appears in the Been There Series and the You Are Here Series, so check the series name before you buy.