Reactions of2,2'-pyridil (pyCOCOpy) withCuCl2⋅2H2OandCuBr2in EtOH yielded the mononuclear complex[Cu(pyCOOEt)2Cl2]⋅H2O(1) and the one-dimensional, mixed-valence complex[Cu2ICuII(pyCOOEt)2Br4]n(2), respectively. Both complexes crystallize in the triclinic space group P1¯. The lattice constants area=8.382(2),b=9.778(2),c=7.814(2),α=101.17(1),β=114.55(1),γ=94.14(1)∘for1anda=8.738(1),b=9.375(2),c=7.966(1),α=79.09(1),β=64.25(1),γ=81.78(1)∘for2.2,2'-pyridil undergoes a metal-assisted alcoholysis and oxidation leading to decomposition and yielding the ethyl picolinate (pyCOOEt) ligand. The autoredox process associated with the reduction of copper(II) to copper(I) in the case of complex2is discussed in terms of the increased redox activity of the copper(II) bromide system relative to the copper(II) chloride system.