A pair of modern Russian mint errors highlight Sincona Ag’s Oct. 23 auction in Zurich.

The Swiss firm offers 1,425 lots of coins and medals in the sale, ranging from the classic coins of the czars and czarinas to contemporary issues.

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One error is the 2016 ringed-bimetallic 10-ruble “mule” coin celebrating the Irkutsk region that was struck using a reverse die intended for the standard 5-ruble coin.

A mule is made when dies that are not intended to be paired together are used to strike a coin or medal. The name is a play off of the animal created as the offspring of a male donkey and female horse.

The coin is an “Extremely rare mint error,” according to the auction house.

An off-metal strike from 2016 is also in the sale.

U.S. Mint welcomes a fourth metal to the American Eagle bullion program. Also in this week’s print issue of Coin World, we teach our readers about what a “weak-fatty” gold coin is and why you don’t want one in your collection.

This 10-ruble coin honoring the ancient town of Rzhev in the Tver Region was struck instead on a planchet for the 25-ruble coin and as such is “very rare” and “very interesting,” the auction house said.

Both pieces are Brilliant Uncirculated and have opening bids of 500 Swiss francs (about $516 in U.S. funds).

To learn more about the auction, visit the firm’s website.