Counting money by hand is a time consuming process. Accuracy can be dramatically improved, along with speed, by using an automated currency counting machine. The only downside of a standard currency counter is that they can’t catch counterfeit bills. If you need speed, accuracy and the ability to scan for counterfeit bills, consider a machine like the Semacon S-1015 Mini UV currency counter. This is my review.

Semacon may not know for making the cheapest bill counters available, but they are known for making some of the highest-quality bill counters around. Many of their machines are manufactured in Japan, where quality control is significantly higher than in other manufacturing countries. Their machines are “burned in” and tested prior to packaging, ensuring a working machine out of the box.

Semacon currently manufactures a wide range of currency counters, coin counters and coin roll crimping machines. You can find their entire line of money handling equipment here.

The Semacon S-1015 Mini UV is a compact currency counter, designed from the ground up to quickly count bills, tickets, coupons, paper and more. It is one of Semacon’s “mini” counters, designed to be more compact than standard currency counters and far more portable.

One of the biggest benefits of the S-1015 Mini UV is that it has ultraviolet counterfeit detection capabilities. If you have ever held a U.S. $5, $10, $20, $50 or $100, you’ll notice several UV features that glow. These same features are scanned by the S-1015 Mini UV. If these features are not present, the bill counter will promptly alert you to the possibility of a counterfeit banknote.

The digital display, located on the S-1015, is found on the top of the machine. This makes controls easy to access and data easy to read. This display will provide you with a running total on what’s going on. You can set the S-1015 to provide you with the total count of an individual stack of bills, or you can set it to provided you with an added total of several stacks of bills.

The control panel is easy to use. A bright green button turns the counter on and a red button stops the machine. A UV button allows you to toggle the counterfeit detection on and off and a batch counting button makes it easy to set up batch counting for various amounts.

Not only does this currency counter handle money, but it can also be used to count other denominations (including Canadian), as long as they fall within the 115 x 50 to 167 x 85 mm minimum and maximum sizes. This can also be used to count tickets, coupons and paper.

Overall I am very impressed with this counter. The build quality is exceptional, up to par for daily use. It should easily hold up for years and is perfect for use in grocery stores, retail shops, banks, credit unions and more.

You should be aware, however, that this counter will not provide you with the actual dollar amount of the bills being counted, just the total quantity. Few currency counters provide a dollar amount and those that do are called currency discriminators.

You can find the Semacon S-1015 Mini UV currency counter here and our entire selection of currency counting machines here.

If you handle currency on a daily basis, in excess of a few dozen bills, you may need an automatic bill counter. If you’re like most retail businesses, you probably handle well over a few dozen tangible bills per day. Banks, retailers and other businesses often have to count these bills at the end of the day. Manually counting money is not only slow, but also notoriously inaccurate. So are automated bill counters more accurate?

Bill counters use a special photocell to count bills. Paddles and rollers inside the bill counter pull bills into the machine. As the bills pass these photocells, the sensor lets the machine know electronically that a bill has been counted. The entire process takes microseconds, with many bill counters capable of counting thousands of bills per minute.

I have personally used over a dozen different brands, makes and models of bill counters. One thing they all seem to have in common is accuracy. I purposely run bills through currency counters repeatedly over and over to verify the accuracy. I have yet to experience an issue with a currency counter reporting a different number the 2nd or 3rd time running the stack through the machine.

So in answer to the question, “Are Bill Counters 100% Accurate?” I have to answer “yes” with a few stipulations. First off, the bills need to be either new or used bills that are completely in tact. The good news is that most modern bill counters have error detection.

Most modern bill counters will let you know if multiple bills have accidentally been pulled through, if a bill is torn in half or if the bill being counted isn’t the right size. This detection cuts down on pretty much every error out there. Many bill counters now even include counterfeit detection capabilities.

When I answer “yes” to bill counters being 100% accurate, I am also assuming that the bill counter is in 100% working condition. I have to admit though that I have never had a customer call back complaining that their bill counter isn’t accurate. If bill counters weren’t accurate, nobody would use them. It’s that simple.

You can find our entire selection of automated bill counters here, our entire selection of coin counters here and our entire selection of counterfeit bill detectors here.

It has now gone viral, but last week I read an article about Jason West in Vernal, UT, who decided to pay a disputed medical bill with 2,500 pennies ($25). Apparently he felt he had already paid the bill and they felt he hadn’t. We have all been in similar situations. Where it went from there is pretty funny.

After becoming frustrated with the clinic, he decided to go ahead and pay the bill. According to the article, he asked if they accepted cash. The billing clerk answered in the affirmative. He broke out his cash, which ended up being 2,500 pennies.

While it sounds like he was simply making a statement, apparently it made a mess and West was fined $140 for the incident. Interesting.

I enjoyed the Police Captain’s response saying that Jason West “dumped 2,500 pennies onto the counter and demanded that they count it. … The pennies were strewn about the counter and the floor.”

I even more enjoyed Jason West’s account regarding the story. He said, “I didn’t at any time yell. … I didn’t go on a rant. I wasn’t irate.” Regarding the coins falling on the floor, West said, “That’s just the nature of pennies. They’re round.”

You can read the entire incident here.

Why do I bring up this story, especially considering I work for an office equipment business? Coin counters of course! We sell coin counters that can easily handle 2,500 pennies in just minutes. Our cheapest coin counter (the ABC110 coin counter), rings in at $151 (or 15,100 pennies) and can count coins at a speed of 270 coins per minute. That means the poor clerk could have quickly counted those coins in 9 minutes.

Coins, in mass, are bulky, heavy and unwieldy. Retail businesses, however, have to deal with coins on a daily basis. Save time, eliminate human errors and use a coin counter. We offer several affordable models of coin counters found here.

Coin counters and sorters could potentially be some of the most time-saving products available. Have you ever tried counting a jar of coins by hand? It is slow, boring and riddled with errors. Coin counters can sort and count coins in just minutes, sometimes seconds. Having used coin counters for years, I have a few suggestions on what you may want to look for in a machine.

To begin with, you’ll want to find a good reliable brand. Coin counter brands that I have found to be reliable include Cassida, Magner, Ribao, Klopp and Semacon. I have used coin counters and sorters from all 5 of these manufacturers and they have always proven to be reliable products.

The next thing you’ll need in a coin counter are some specific features. Here are some of the most common features available.

Coin Sorting – A coin counter should be able to sort coins as well, right? That is true, but different coin counters sort coins in different ways. Some machines are able to sort all coins at once, such as the ABC110, where others sort just one denomination at a time, such as the Ribao CS-10. Machines that only sort one denomination at a time are usually designed that way for bagging and coin rolling purposes.

Batch Counting – Do you need to be able to count a specific number of a specific denomination of coin? This is pretty important for coin rolling purposes. If you need a coin roll of $10 in quarters, you’re going to want to set up the batch counting for 40 coins. Make sense?

Continuous Counting – Continuous counting is nice if you are counting a lot of coins in one fell swoop. An example of this would be counting two jars of coins, but using a machine that can only handle one jar of coins at a time. You would place the first jar in the machine, and once finished, pour the second jar of coins into the machine. With continuous counting, the machine will be able to tell you the total number of coins and dollar value of coins for both jars.

Denominations – Be sure the machine you are using can handle the needed coin denominations. Most of our coin counters and sorters can handle pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters. Some are also able to handle dollar coins, tokens and even Canadian denominations such as Toonies and Loonies. Most machines will state under the specifications what they can handle. Many can be custom built to handle the coins you deal with on a daily basis.

Tubing / Bagging – Many people like to tube or bag coins for storage purposes. This may be a bank, a credit union or even a grocery store. Many of our coin counters have optional coin tubing and bagging attachments.

Speed – If you’re an individual or a small business, speed may not be an issue. If you are a bank or a retail store, counting speeds may be critical. Our coin counters are rated by coins counted per minute. The Semacon S-520, for example, can count and sort up to 450 coins per minute.

Portability – This is a tough call. While you may want your coin counter to be portable, you often loose counting capacity with portability. You’ll need to determine how much counting capacity and portability you need in your machine before making a choice. If your machine will always sit on the same counter or table, portability probably won’t matter.

You can see a video demo of a coin counter in action here:

I hope these tips and suggestions help you in your quest to find a reliable coin counting machine. If you still have questions, and many of you will, please feel free to contact one of our money handling specialists by calling 1-800-658-8788. I work with these people and can attest to the fact that they are knowledgeable, courteous and won’t pressure you into buying something you don’t need.

You can find our entire selection of coin counters and sorters here.

When you think about bill counters, brands like Semacon, Cassida and Klopp are probably a few that come to mind. One of the most popular brands, however, is Magner. One of our most popular Magner bill counters is the Magner 35-3 high-speed bill counter. It has been around for years and has developed quite a reputation. This is my review.

Magner is a very popular manufacturer of bill counters, coin counters, coin wrappers and counterfeit detectors. They are well known for their Model 20, Model 75 and Model 75V. While these are all great machines, their most popular machine, according to our customers, is the Model 35-3.

If you have ever used a bill counter, you may know that one of the most frustrating things about using one is the issue of misfeeds. While this doesn’t occur with all counters, many require adjustments and finicky settings to work correctly. The Magner 35-3 works as advertised right out of the box. While there are some adjustments that can be made, few are required.

Magner claims that the 35 series is the longest-ever produced bill counter and the #1 best selling bill counter in the world. While I can’t confirm all these claims, I can tell you that it is a solid bill counter. Here are a few reasons why.

To begin with, it is accurate. You can take a stack of bills, place them in the hopper, and it will count them with extreme precision every time. When operating a business, accuracy can mean a big difference. When operating a bank, accuracy can mean someone’s job.

Speed shouldn’t be an issue with the 35-3. It has a variable speed motor, capable of counting bills at 600, 1200 or 1500 banknotes per minute. Simply select the desired speed from the control panel. As someone who has used several bill counters, I can vouch for the fact that 1500 bills per minute is screaming fast.

The Magner 35-3 is great at detecting flaws in bills and feed issues. It has a double, chain and half-note detection. It will also alert you in the rare event that a jam occurs. It also has 5 adjustable density settings, making this bill counter idea for use with not just US currencies, but foreign currencies as well.

The control panel is very easy to navigate. A digital display lets you know what’s going on at all times. The display also provides you with a total number of bills counted.

The Magner 35-3 can handle be set up for standard counting, batch counting or accumulative counting. Standard counting resets the machine every time a new stack of bills are placed in the hopper. Batch counting lets you tell the machine how many bills to count before stopping. Accumulative counting remembers previous counts and keeps them all tallied until reset.

You will want to be aware that the Magner 35-3 does not sort bills, it only counts them. It will give you a total number of bills counted, not a total value of bills counted. If you need the actual dollar value, and to have the bills sorted, you will need what’s known as a bill discriminator. Most people are fine with the total number of bills and bills are typically pre-sorted prior to counting.

From start to finish, the Magner 35-3 bill counter is a high quality and accurate machine. Considering how long it has been around, the fact that it has been time tested with customers and is made from high-quality materials, you will more than likely be highly satisfied with this machine.

You can find the Magner 35-3 automatic currency counter here and our entire selection of bill counters here.

If you still have questions about bill / currency counters, feel free to call and speak with one of our money counting specialists by calling 1-800-658-8788. Have a great day!

Are you looking for a coin counting and sorting machine that will allow you to simply dump in a bunch of coins and let it do the rest? If so, you may want to consider a machine like the ABC440 coin counting and sorting machine. This machine is simple to use, fast in operation and I have personally used it on many occasions. I had the opportunity to help shoot a video demo of this coin counter.

To begin with, I have to say that my initial impressions were pretty high. At first glance, you might think that you’re dealing with an Accubanker AB410. Other than the lower price of the ABC440, they are pretty much the same machine. I would have to say that I would rate the ABC440 for light to medium-volume use.

You can place up to 300 coins in the hopper of this machine. It will quickly sort through those coins at a speed of up to 600 coins a minute. Supported denominations include pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters and dollar coins. The digital display will give you a running total of total coins counted or dollar value of coins counted.

Here is the actual video demo we shot of the ABC440. While it is a few years old, you will certainly get a good idea as to how it works.

So there you have it! The ABC440, especially for the low price, is a great value. It is affordable, portable, durable and best of all it’s accurate. You can find the ABC440 automatic electric coin counter and sorter here. You can find our entire selection of coin counters and sorters here.

Precision, accuracy and reliability are all features you expect to find in a bill counter. You don’t want to have to deal with jams, breakdowns and other issues. You need a reliable machine. One bill counter we have come to find as reliable and dependable is the Cassida 5520 bill counter. This is my review.

Cassida currently makes several different bill counters, coin counters and counterfeit bill detectors. Cassida, along with other reputable manufacturers like Magner and Semacon, have developed a great reputation with customers and dealers. Many of Cassida’s bill counters include built-in counterfeit detection capabilities.

The Cassida 5520 is available in a UV (ultraviolet) and a UV / MG (ultraviolet & magnetic) version. The UV and MG capabilities are designed to scan bills for counterfeit properties while simultaneously counting them. The process literally takes milliseconds and the process is flawless. It is very impressive to see just how accurate this bill counter is.

This should give you an idea as to just how fast this bill counter operates. It runs at a speed of 1,300 bills per minute, which equals 21.6 bills a second. Considering the average human counts bills at a speed of about 1-3 bills per minute, this is a dramatic improvement. I can also tell you that this bill counter is leaps and bounds more accurate than a human.

The Cassida 5520 has a hopper capacity of 200 new bills, which usually equals about 100 used bills. As soon as the bills are counted, they can be removed and more bills added.

This bill counter features a few different counting methods. One is to count the bills and then reset as soon as another stack is added and the second method is to keep a continuous total of bills counted (until reset). Total numbers are easy to see in red on the built-in digital display. At the moment, the 5520 even comes with a remote display that can be plugged into the bill counter.

The Cassida 5520 also offers the option of batch counting, which means you can tell it to count 20 bills (your choice) and then stop. Once the bills are removed it will count another 20 bills. This is ideal for bundling bills in specific quantities (great for banks).

One downside is that this bill counter will not sort the bills. Few (less than 5%) machines are capable of sorting bills. If you need a bill counter that can also sort bills, you will need what’s known as a bill discriminator.

Not only does the 5520 count bills, but it can also be used to count checks, coupons and tickets. It can also be used to count foreign currencies. The only caveat is that the material being counted has to fit within 2″ x 4″ to 4″ x 7-1/3″ sizes.

Overall I have to say that the Cassida 5520 is a solid machine. It is portable, accurate and the build quality is great. It even includes a build in handle for added portability.

You can find the Cassida 5520 bill counter here and our entire selection of bill counters here.

Counting coins by hand, as you might imagine, can take a lot of time. If you’re like me, it will probably take a couple of attempts as well. Speed and error issues makes manual coin counting extremely inefficient. Coin counting machines, like the ABC110 coin counter & sorter, makes counting quick and accurate. I have personally used the ABC110 on several of occasions and have to say that I’m impressed.

I remember as a child getting a coin sorter for Christmas. Yes, I actually asked for one. It wasn’t an electric coin sorter, but rather a gravity coin sorter. You put the coin at the top of the sorter and watched it make its way down, bouncing back and forth until it ultimately dropped into the correct bin. While fun, this isn’t an efficient way to sort or count coins. Unfortunately, many of the coin counters and sorters you find at local department stores operate in a similar way and are simply not meant for commercial use.

The ABC110 means business. The hopper along can hold up to 1,600 dimes. If you have a drawer, a bag or a jar of coins, just dump them into the top and turn the machine on. It will begin to quickly and efficiently count and sort coins. The ABC110 is packed with features, and all for an affordable low price.

You can view a video demo of the ABC110 coin counter and sorter here:

This coin counter is a great example of a cost effective machine that will save you both time and money. You can find the ABC110 coin counter & sorter here and our entire selection of coin counters here.

Are you in need of a solid, robust and commercial coin counter and sorter that doesn’t require the use of electricity? Few manual coin counters are capable of handling large coin counting and sorting jobs. One excellent model you may want to consider using is the Semacon S-110 manual coin counter and sorter. This is my review.

Semacon is one of the most reputable manufactures of coin counters, sorters and bill counters around. Their products all feature a very nice build quality, one that far exceeds that found in many competitors. While their prices may be a little more than cheaper Chinese-made products, you make up the difference in cost by longevity alone.

The S-110 is one of the most unique coin counters and sorters that we carry. That is because it is completely manually operated. It is set up and designed like many of our high-end electric coin counters, but instead of an electric motor it features a hand crank.

While manually operated, it is still capable of counting and sorting coins at an amazing speed of up to 1,200+ coins per minute. That is faster than many of our electric machines. It does, however, include a battery-powered LCD screen that keeps tabs of total counted coins.

So why would you want a manual commercial coin counter and sorter? A high-end manual coin counter and sorter is perfect for locations, evens and businesses where electricity is either limited or simply is not available. It is also a huge plus for portability. You can literally use the Semacon S-110 anywhere.

Weighing in at 12.2 pounds, the S-110 is also very easy to pick up and move around. It can be used on desks, tables, countertops and more. Part of the reason for its light weight is the lack of an electric motor. While it is fairly lightweight, the build quality on this machine is excellent.

There is another huge portability benefit with the S-110. The lid on the S-110 acts as a coin funnel and as a dust cover. When folded up, a built-in handle makes the S-110 extremely easy to pick up and move.

The main chassis on the Semacon S-110 is made from a strong and lightweight metal alloy. This alloy frame provides reliable stability to the machine. The outside of the S-110 is constructed from a impact-resistant plastic case. This durable build quality allows the S-110 to be used for heavy-duty jobs.

Overall, if you don’t mind the hand crank, I have to say the S-110 is an excellent coin counter. I highly recommend this coin counter.

If you aren’t fond of the idea of using a hand crank, Semacon also makes a similar variation of this coin counter as the electric-powered S-120 and S-140.

You can find the Semacon S-110 manual coin counter and sorter and our entire selection of coin counting machines here.

Feel free to call us at 1-800-658-8788 with any questions.

A few months ago I wrote an article about how the U.S. government has seriously messed up the printing of the new $100 bill (found here). That article turned out to be pretty popular with our blog subscribers. Since we sell bill counters and counterfeit detectors, I thought it would be appropriate for me to point out a few additional interesting facts about modern U.S. currency.

I have gathered together many of these facts from my own knowledge on money, articles I have read and from a great article entitled “All About the Benjamins” written by Rachel Arndt with Fastcompany.com magazine.

Did You Know?

• There are 4.42 billion more $1 bills in circulation than $100 bills.
• The U.S. printed 26 million bills a day in 2009, equaling $907 million dollars.
• Three of our currency denominations feature people who were never presidents. These are Benjamin Franklin ($100), Alexander Hamilton ($10) and Sacagawea ($1 coin).
• About 1 in every 10,000 bills in current U.S. circulation is counterfeit.
• About 90% of U.S. paper money has traces of cocaine on it.
• In 1910 there was about $3.1 billion in currency circulation in the U.S. Today that amount is about $888.3 billion in circulation.
• The $5 bill has the shortest lifespan of paper currencies, lasting about 16 months. The $100 bill has the longest lifespan at 73 months.
• It costs 1.6 cents to produce a 1-cent coin.
• The U.S. Mint ended up losing $2.2 million dollars making nickels and $19.8 million making pennies in 2009.
• Even with all the credit and debit cards used today, 35% of all U.S. transactions are still made with cash.

Those are some pretty interesting facts. Even though only 1 in every 10,000 bills is counterfeit, this can vary from city to city and state to state. It is still a good idea to verify the authenticity of your bills by scanning them with a counterfeit bill detector. You can find our entire selection of counterfeit bill detectors here.

If you are a business that continues to conduct a lot of transactions using cash, you may be in need of a bill counter. At ABC Office we carry a huge selection of bill counters found here.

Do you know any fun or interesting facts about money? Feel free to post your thoughts and ideas in a comment!