Counting and half-wrapping apparatus for banknotes with the function of discriminating the banknotes of different nominal values

An apparatus for counting the number of and half-wrapping banknotes, said apparatus being adapted to be capable of discriminating the banknotes of different nominal values, and said apparatus comprising, in combination, a hopper for accommodating a stack of banknotes, a drum mounted at said hopper and adapted for separately extracting said banknotes from said hopper, a substantially vertical transport plate disposed below said drum for receiving and guiding said extracted banknotes in downward direction, a sensing and discriminating unit adjacent to said transport plate below said drum and adapted for sensing or discriminating the nominal value, authenticity or transport state of the banknotes extracted and forwarded by said drum, a changeover shutter plate adjacent to and below said sensing and discriminating unit and adapted for selectively forwarding the banknotes from said sensing and discriminating unit in a selected one of two preset directions, said shutter plate being controlled by output signals supplied from said sensing and discriminating unit, a reject note stacker disposed laterally adjacent to said shutter plate and adapted for receiving rejected banknotes forwarded in one of said selected forwarding directions of said shutter plate, a stack unit adjacent to and below said reject note stacker and adapted for receiving a predetermined number of the desired banknotes forwarded in the other of said selected forwarding directions of said shutter plate, whereby undesired notes contained in the banknotes extracted by said drum are forwarded to said reject note stacker and only the desired notes are forwarded into said stack unit by the operation of said changeover shutter plate, lateral transfer chuck means mounted for movement in a direction transverse to said other of said forwarding directions and toward and away from said stack unit and having means for gripping desired notes in said stack unit and removing the desired notes from said stack unit, and means for moving said chuck means in a direction transverse to said other of said forwarding directions and toward and away from said stack unit.