Starbucks West Virginia mug: Discovery Series
The West Virginia mug from Starbucks' Discovery Series sets the state name in blue over a dark green circle, with a banjo, a rock climber, a waterfall, orange blooms, a bird and a coiled snake.
- Series
- Discovery Series
- Place
- West Virginia, USA
- Type
- Mug
- Released
- Not confirmed
- Capacity
- 14 fl ozstandard mug size
- SKU
- Not confirmed
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The night a veteran jumped off West Virginia's biggest bridge
At 10:20 p.m. on 17 August 1979, Burton Ervin, a Korean War veteran, stepped off the New River Gorge Bridge near Fayetteville with a parachute [1]. The span is 876 feet above the river, and it had been finished less than two years earlier [2]. More than 200 people watched, with only minimal lighting to guide the jump [1]. He came down in the New River. According to WOAY, police arrested him after he landed safely [3]. The jump was illegal, but it came about a year before the first Bridge Day [4]. That event was held on 8 November 1980 [3]. Now the bridge opens to pedestrians one day a year, on the third Saturday of October [5]. The climber on the West Virginia mug (4) may be on a wall in that same gorge.
The mug does not label its drawings, so connecting this one to the story is our reading.
What's on the mug
- 1Lettering
WEST VIRGINIA in blue capitals on two lines over a dark green circle.
- 2Orange blooms
Two clusters of orange-and-yellow blooms with dark leaves sit above the lettering.
- 3Banjo
A banjo with a pale green head stands upright at the right of the circle, with yellow music notes beside it.
- 4Rock climber
A climber in a dark top reaches up a pale blue-green cliff at the left.
- 5Waterfall
A white waterfall drops over pale rock into a dark blue pool.
- 6Fir trees
Tall golden fir trees and smaller dark blue ones stand beside the waterfall.
- 7Bird
A bird with a yellow-orange body and blue wings perches at the right, beside the handle.
- 8Coiled snake
A coiled blue-and-gold shape that looks like a snake sits beside the handle.
The photo shows one side of the mug. The back and the area behind the handle are out of view.
Collector notes
- The banjo and the music notes sit beside the handle, while the climber and the waterfall are at the left, so the scene reads as one picture wrapped around the mug.
- The lettering is stacked on two lines, WEST over VIRGINIA, in blue on the dark green circle.
Before you buy
The photo shows one side of the mug, so the back and the area behind the handle are out of view. Starbucks' Been There Series also has a West Virginia mug; check the series name in the listing before you buy.
