Customizable international note counter

A method of counting currency bills of different types, such as currency bills issued by different countries, comprising the steps of:

• transporting bills, one at a time, along a transport path;
• counting the number of bills transported along said transport path;
• specifying the type of currency to be counted and the denomination of currency to be counted;
• and
• calculating the total value of each currency type based at least in part on the number of bills counted and the specified currency type and denomination.

A document handling apparatus for processing documents such as currency bills of different types, the apparatus comprising:

• a transport mechanism for transporting bills, one at a time, along a transport path;
• at least one sensor located along said transport path for producing at least a count signal in response to each bill transported therealong;
• an input device for specifying a type of currency to be counted and a denomination of currency to be counted;
• a memory for storing master bill characteristics for multiple currency types and denominations;
• said at least one sensor located along said transport path further sensing at least one characteristic of each bill transported therealong;
• and
• a processor for authenticating bills by comparing the sensed characteristic with one of said stored master characteristics selected on the basis of the specified currency type and denomination, and for calculating a total value of counted and authenticated bills of each currency type.

A document handling method for processing documents such as currency bills of different types, the method comprising the steps of:

• transporting bills, one at a time, along a transport path;
• counting the number of bills transported along said transport path;
• specifying the type of currency to be counted and the denomination of currency to be counted;
• storing master bill characteristics for multiple currency types and denominations;
• sensing at least one characteristic of each bill transported along said transport path;
• authenticating said bills by comparing the sensed characteristic with one of said stored master characteristics selected on the basis of the specified currency type and denomination;
• and
• calculating a total value of authenticated bills of each currency type based upon the specified currency type and denomination and the number of authenticated bills counted.