Starbucks Nebraska mug: Discovery Series
The Nebraska mug from Starbucks' Discovery Series sets the state name in orange capitals over a dark green circle and surrounds it with six pieces of Nebraska imagery.
- Series
- Discovery Series
- Place
- Nebraska, USA
- Type
- Mug
- Released
- 2024per marketplace listing titles
- Capacity
- 14 fl ozstandard mug size
- SKU
- Not confirmed
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The Nebraska farmer whose 'Ford' tractor was not a Ford
In 1916, Wilmot Crozier, a farmer in Osceola, Nebraska, bought a Minneapolis Ford Model B tractor [3]. It had nothing to do with Henry Ford. According to Gas Engine Magazine, a Minnesota company had built it under an engineer's surname, hoping to exploit the Ford name [5]. Crozier found the machine unreliable, and he could not get parts or repairs for it [3]. He demanded a replacement and got one [5]. Then he took the problem to the state legislature. The bill passed easily and became law in 1919 [3]. From then on, no tractor could be sold in Nebraska without a permit [6]. The first official test, on a John Deere Waterloo Boy Model N, was finished on April 9, 1920 [3]. The green tractor on the Nebraska mug (5) may be one of the machines that law was written for.
The mug does not label its drawings, so connecting this one to the story is our reading.
What's on the mug
- 1Windmill
A farm windmill with orange blades stands at the far left, its tower running down the edge of the mug.
- 2Songbird
A songbird with a blue back and a yellow-green breast perches above the lettering. Nebraska's state bird is the western meadowlark, but the artwork is stylised, so we can't confirm which species is meant.[1]
- 3Rock spire
The layered orange formation with a thin spike on top looks like Chimney Rock, a sandstone landmark in western Nebraska that rises nearly 300 feet above the North Platte River valley and guided travellers on the Oregon, California and Mormon trails. The mug doesn't name it, so this is our reading.[2]
- 4Mammoth
A blue mammoth with long curved tusks. The mammoth is Nebraska's official state fossil.[1]
- 5Tractor
A green tractor with a yellow-framed grille. Nebraska has a documented link to tractors: a 1919 state law led the University of Nebraska to begin independent tractor testing in 1920.[3]
- 6Ear of corn
An ear of corn with a handle at one end, drawn with speckled yellow-and-orange kernels.
- 7Lettering
NEBRASKA in orange capitals over a dark green circle. The mammoth's tusks curve up toward the word.
This photo shows one side of the mug, so anything on the back or inside is not described here.
Collector notes
- Nebraska is a common name on Starbucks mugs. An Amazon listing we found sells a "Been There Series" Nebraska mug, which is a different mug from this Discovery Series one, so check the series name in the listing title.
- More than one size is sold. Alongside the standard mug, an eBay listing we found offers a 2 oz espresso cup in the Nebraska Discovery design; confirm the size before you buy.
Before you buy
This listing shows one side of the mug only, so the back and inside are not covered. Starbucks also sells a Been There Series Nebraska mug, so check the series name in the listing title before you buy.
Other Nebraska mugs
About the Discovery Series
Sources
- NebraskAccess: Nebraska's State Symbols (state bird and state fossil)
- Chimney Rock National Historic Site (Wikipedia)
- Nebraska Tractor Test Laboratory: our history (University of Nebraska–Lincoln)
- Marketplace listings on Amazon and eBay, read on 2026-09-30 (release year and sizes come from listing titles, not from Starbucks)
- The Nebraska Tractor Test Law, 1919-1927 (Gas Engine Magazine)
- The Nebraska Tractor Test Law, 1919-1927 (Gas Engine Magazine)
