Starbucks Montana mug: Discovery Series

By The Starbucks Cups team · Last checked 2026-09-30 · How we make these pages

Starbucks Discovery Series Montana mug with huckleberries, an eagle, a lake, a campfire and mountains around the word MONTANA — Front view · numbered markers match the list below Show markers

The Montana mug from Starbucks' Discovery Series sets the state name in orange over a dark green circle, with huckleberries, an eagle, a lake, a campfire and snow-capped mountains.

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

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The shrimp that was meant to feed the salmon

In 1968, Montana's state fisheries managers began releasing a small shrimp into lakes of the Flathead watershed ^[3]. Across the West it was being introduced as food for salmon and trout ^[4]. Downstream in Glacier National Park, bald eagles were already gathering every October at McDonald Creek, drawn by 75,000 to 150,000 spawning kokanee in a three-kilometer stretch of shallow water ^[5]. Along the creek in 1939, 37 eagles were counted ^[5]. By 1969 the number reported was 373 ^[5]. The shrimp moved downstream and reached Flathead Lake in 1981 ^[3]. Lake trout flourished on them and decimated the kokanee fishery, according to a 2012 review of the lake's history ^[6]. The University of Montana's Flathead Lake Biological Station says the collapse eliminated a reliable food source for hundreds of bald eagles and bears ^[4]. The teal eagle diving at the left edge of the Montana mug (2) may be a bald eagle.

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

What's on the mug

1
Huckleberries
A cluster of blue-black berries with orange leaves fills the top left. They look like huckleberries, which the National Park Service says can make up to 15% of the diet of bears in and around Glacier National Park.^[1]
2
Eagle
A teal eagle with orange-tipped feathers dives at the left edge.
3
Lake
A blue lake with white wave crests and small islands sits at the right of the lettering, ringed by dark pines with mountains behind.
4
Campfire
A campfire with orange flames and stacked logs burns at the lower right.
5
Seated figure
A teal figure sits by the fire at the right edge, partly hidden behind the handle.
6
Mountains and pines
Blue hills with snow-capped peaks and dark pine trees run across the bottom.
7
Lettering
MONTANA in orange capitals over a dark green circle.
8
Bookshelf Side view
A tall teal bookcase filled with blue, yellow and dark books stands at the centre, with a small cup on one shelf.
9
Open book Side view
An open yellow book with motion streaks flies out to the right of the bookcase.
10
Flying eagle Side view
A teal eagle with spread wings swoops down toward the open book, with dark berries at the right edge.
11
Forest and road Side view
Dark pines, snowy peaks and a yellow winding road with a small car fill the left of this face.
12
Blue flowers Side view
Two large blue flowers with orange centres sit at the lower left of this face.
13
Bear on a gem Back view
A tan bear stands on a blue, many-faceted shape like a cut gemstone. Montana's state mammal is the grizzly bear and its state gemstones are sapphire and agate; the mug doesn't say which the artist meant.^[2]
14
Songbird on a fence Back view
A small bird with an orange-yellow chest perches on a wooden fence rail at the left of the gem.
15
Two dark animals Back view
Two heavy, dark animals graze at the lower left, one facing us and one turned away.
16
Car on a yellow road Back view
A small dark car drives along a yellow road that winds in front of the mountains.
17
Layered mountains Back view
Blue and yellow ridges rise behind the road, layered like paper cut-outs.
18
Violet flowers Back view
Clusters of violet flowers with orange leaves sit in the lower right.

The three photos cover the front, one side and the back. The strip directly behind the handle is out of view.

Collector notes

Montana has both a Discovery mug (this page) and a Been There mug, which has its own page on this site. The two are different designs.
The handle covers half of the seated figure. Listing photos taken from the handle side show more of the campfire scene than this one.

Before you buy

The handle hides half of the seated figure (5) by the campfire, and the strip directly behind the handle is out of view in our photos. Montana also has a Been There mug, a separate design with its own page on this site.