Also see:
Coin & Note Handling | Coin Counters | Note Counters | Fake Note Detectors

Buying Tips:
If you are sorting and counting mixed coins upto £300 / 450 Euros in mixed coins once per day, then the BJ-18 is a suitable choice.

For higher coin amounts and more frequent sorting/counting, we recommend our higher-specification coin sorters such as the Pelican 309 coin sorting machine for reliability, speed and accuracy.

If you are counting coins primarily of the same denomination (eg. mainly £1 coins), then you can obtain better performance and faster results with our range of Coin Counters, instead of using a coin sorter.

Plastic Money Bags / Coin Bags
Primemark also supplies custom-design polythene money bags - the small coin bags commonly used in retail banking for storing and depositing same denomination coins. We can pre-print the bags with the Bank's logo and denomination & capacity table.

Coin bags are available in boxes of 20,000 bags, in either low density or high density polythene. For custom-design bags, there is a minimum order of 50 boxes for money bags.

Please call us on UK FreeFone 0800 634 9898 (Intl +44 870 770 7752) to discuss your requirements for coin bags and for a quotation.

Cloth Coin Bags
We supply a variety of strong cloth money bags. These can be colour coded and/or pre-printed in a custom design. Please call us with your requirements for a quotation.

How do Coin Sorters work?
Budget coin sorters will simply look at the size (diameter, and sometimes thickness) of each coin to determine its likely denomination. More sophisticated coin sorters are able to sort coins by using various advanced technology which may look at the size (diameter and thickness), shape, metallic conductivity, magnetivity, permeability and weight of each coin.

The characteristics of each type of coin for a given currency is pre-programmed into the machine. The parameters are usually given an upper and lower tolerance value to allow reasonable margins for sorting dirty coins, wet coins, damaged coins, scratched coins or chipped coins which may differ very slightly in weight or shape. Once the sorter identifies the coin denomination, the coin is placed into the corresponding bin/bag.

UK coin sorters have at least 8 bins or output tubes (for bags) to represent each coin denomination. There is usually also a 9th reject bin.

Sorting Machine Differences
Coin sorters vary in build quality, accuracy, reliability and durability.

The higher specification coin sorters will filter out foreign coins and damaged coins very effectively, handle wet or stuck together coins, as well as handle large cash volumes reliably without jamming, missing or incorrectly sorting for a long period of time.

The budget lower specification machines may occasionally incorrectly classify specific coins if they are exceptionally damaged, wet or dirty or if they are very similar in diameter (eg. 20p and £1 coins). If a machine is made of less expensive materials and components, then over time they will degrade in performance and reliability.

In some circumstances, buying a cheaper coin sorting machine may be a false economy. If it provides incorrect results or frequently jams, then you will be forced to re-count the coins multiple times or resort to counting cash manually. Therefore, our buying advice above specifies the cash limits and environments to which the lower price machines are suited to. For frequent sorting of high coin volumes, we only recommend our high-specification equipment such as the Pelican 309..

Coin Filtering
Coin sorters are designed for specific currencies. Therefore foreign coins and damaged coins need to be excluded. The facility to filter out such coins and the point at which problem coins are filtered out is an important machine characteristic. On sophisticated coin sorting machines, they will be identified and rejected before they reach the sorting rail, thus avoiding potential jamming. On lower specification machines, foreign or damaged coins may jam in the sorting mechanism and require manual operator intervention to remove. This can slow down the sorting and counting process tremendously.

Some coin sorting machines provide a 2-phase option, where coins can first be sorted into one set of drawers and then, after human verification, can be passed through to the main set of drawers for inclusion in the count figures.

British & Euro Coins - Characteristics
Coin sorters are designed for specific currencies due to the unique size, weight and/or shape of each coin within a particular currency. UK coins are quite unique as they are not all circular - 20p and 50p coins being the exceptions. Within any currency range, coins may have a different colour, material composition and edge finishes. Depending on how sophisticated the equipment is, the various coin sorting machines will use one, several or all of these factors to identify particular denomination coins.

Some electronic coin sorting machines may appear to be extremely expensive items of equipment, but the detailed coin specifications below show the advanced technology and accuracy that is required to be able to quickly sort and count large volumes of coins in a reliable manner.

Below are the diameter & thickness sizes, weights, material composition and edge finishes of current circulation (2007) British £Sterling coins (data from Royal Mint):-

• 1p coin -
  Diameter 20.3mm, Thickness 1.52mm (old) / 1.65mm (new), Weight 3.56g
  Composition Bronze, Copper, Zinc (old) / Copper-plated steel (new), Edge Plain
  
• 2p coin -
  Diameter 25.9mm, Thickness 1.85mm (old) / 2.03mm (new), Weight 7.12g
  Composition Bronze, Copper, Zinc (old) / Copper-plated steel (new), Edge Plain
  
• 5p coin -
  Diameter 18mm, Thickness 1.7mm, Weight 3.25g
  Composition Cupro-nickel, Copper, Nickel, Edge Milled
  
• 10p coin -
  Diameter 24.5mm, Thickness 1.85mm, Weight 6.5g
  Composition Cupro-nickel, Copper, Nickel, Edge Milled
  
• 20p coin -
  Diameter 21.4mm, Thickness 1.7mm, Weight 5.0g
  Shape: equilateral curve heptagon (7 sides)
  Composition Cupro-nickel, Copper, Nickel, Edge Plain
  
• 50p coin -
  Diameter 27.3mm, Thickness 1.78mm, Weight 8.0g
  Shape: equilateral curve heptagon (7 sides)
  Composition Cupro-nickel, Copper, Nickel, Edge Plain
  
• £1 coin -
  Diameter 22.5mm, Thickness 3.15mm, Weight 9.5g
  Composition Nickel-brass, Copper, Nickel, Zinc, Edge Milled
  
• £2 coin -
  Diameter 28.4mm, Thickness 2.50mm, Weight 12g
  Composition Outer Nickel-brass, Copper, Nickel, Zinc, Edge Milled
  Composition Inner Cupro-nickel, Copper, Nickel, Edge Milled

Below are the diameter sizes, thickness, weight, material composition, edge finishes and colour of current circulation (2007) Euro coins (data from EU government):-

• 1 cent -
  Diameter 16.25mm, Thickness 1.67mm, Weight 2.3g,
  Colour Red, Composition Copper covered steel, Edge Smooth
  
• 2 cents -
  Diameter 18.75mm, Thickness 1.67mm, Weight 3.06g,
  Colour Red, Composition Copper covered steel, Edge Smooth with groove
  
• 5 cents -
  Diameter 21.25mm, Thickness 1.67mm, Weight 3.92g,
  Colour Red, Composition Copper covered steel, Edge Smooth
  
• 10 cents -
  Diameter 19.75mm, Thickness 1.93mm, Weight 4.1g,
  Colour Yellow, Composition Nordic gold, Edge Shaped with fine scallops
  
• 20 cents -
  Diameter 22.25mm, Thickness 2.14mm, Weight 5.74g,
  Colour Yellow, Composition Nordic gold, Edge Plain
  
• 50 cents -
  Diameter 24.25mm, Thickness 2.38mm, Weight 7.8g,
  Colour Yellow, Composition Nordic gold, Edge Shaped with fine scallops
  
• 1 euro -
  Diameter 23.25mm, Thickness 2.33mm, Weight 7.5g,
  Colour Outer Yellow / Inner White,
  Composition Outer nickel brass
  Composition Inner (3 layers) copper-nickel, nickel, copper-nickel,
  Edge interrupted milled
  
• 2 euro -
  Diameter 25.75mm, Thickness 2.2mm, Weight 8.5g,
  Colour Outer White / Inner Yellow,
  Composition Outer copper-nickel
  Composition Inner (3 layers) nickel-brass, nickel, nickel-brass,
  Edge lettering, fine milled

Note: The face images on Euro coins are not the same in each European country. They have one common side (the same Europe wide) and one national side, which varies from country to country.

The Coin Hopper
Most coin sorters have a hopper into which the loose coins to be sorted are placed. Coin sorting machines vary according to hopper capacity and sorting speed. The greater the capacity and speed, generally the more expensive the coin sorter and counter. Some cash counting machines permit additional coins to be continually poured in as the machine is sorting.

What do Coin Sorters Count?
Some money sorters will count only the quantity of each coin denomation. Other coin sorters will also count the value of the coins too. The summary figures can either be displayed on an LCD screen or, on some counting machines, output to an optional printer or PC interface.

For example, the summary report will state that the total coin value is £12,500. It will then provide a breakdown by denomination: £7400 in £1 coins, £2050 in £2 coins, £476.25 in 5p coins and so on.

The printer facility is a useful option as it provides a permanent record of the cash count, which can be used to support banking and auditing procedures.

Batching
Batching is a feature available on most coin sorters. Via the buttons on a menu panel, at the outset the operator may specify the batch size of each coin denomination. For example, for UK £Sterling coins, you could specify £20 for £1 coins, £5 for 20p coins, £1 for 2p coins and so on. Once the bin or bag for a particular coin denomination reaches the batch limit, the sorting machine pauses to allow the operator to bag the sorted coins and empty the coin bin. This is an invaluable time-saving feature for banking and end of day cashing up.

Further Information on Coin Sorters

Noise:
Being mechanical devices, coin sorters do tend to be quite noisy when operating as coins are placed or emptied into the hopper, as they drop from the hopper into the sorting compartment and also as the sorted coins drop into the output bins.

Positioning:
The coin sorting machine should ideally be placed on a flat, stable surface during operation. We would recommend locating it away from areas where it may cause a noise disturbance to your customers or working staff.

Trolleys:
Some of the larger coin sorters have optional trolleys available so the machine can be moved to where coins have to be collected from and then stored away when not in use.

Bags:
The smaller machines are suited to the plastic bags issued by most UK banks for bagging coins. The bag will normally have a printed table showing the batch size for each coin denomination. You should set the batch sizes on your coin sorter in accordance with this printed table. For the larger coin sorting machines, heavy duty bags or sacks are available. Please check the available accessories on the product profile.

Maintenance:
As with all electro-mechanical equipment, you should try to keep your electronic coin sorter clean and dust-free. Do not use any water or chemicals to clean the coin sorter, only a dry cloth. It is also advisable to keep the sorting machine covered when out of use for longer periods to prevent dust build up. Remember to switch off the mains power supply if you need to access the coin sorting machine to remove a stuck coin or debris.

Operation:
It is a good idea to check the output bin for each coin denomination is empty before you start the sorting and counting operation. Try to identify and remove any debris in your coins (eg. staples, paper clips, buttons and other non-coin objects) before placing them in the hopper.

Safety:
Staff who operate the machine should take care with dangling clothing items (eg. a tie or scarf) and necklaces when leaning over the machine while it is counting and sorting.

Links to additional Coin Sorting information

Picture gallery of current British coins - British Coins Gallery

Encyclopedia information on £Sterling coins - Encyclopedia Entry

Coin & Token Feed apparatus - IPO website

Can't See What you Want?
If you wish to discuss your coin sorting requirements, call us for helpful advice. Our website displays our most popular electronic coin sorters although we have a much wider range of machines available as well as replacement parts, accessories and related products. Please Contact Us to check for a particular coin sorter.

Also see:
Coin & Note Handling | Coin Counters | Note Counters | Fake Note Detectors