A coin sorter for sorting mixed coins by denomination includes a rotatable disc (13), a drive motor (14) rotating the disc, and a stationary sorting head (12) having a lower surface generally parallel to the upper surface of the rotatable disc and spaced slightly therefrom. The lower surface of the sorting head forms a plurality of exit channels (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45) for guiding coins of different denominations to different exit locations around the periphery of the disc. Shunting mechanisms (1050) are disposed in one or more of the exit channels or are disposed outside the periphery of the disc adjacent one or more of the exit locations. These shunting mechanism are used to separate coins into two or more batches for the purpose of either discriminating between valid coins and invalid coins or for the purpose of accumulating a predetermined number of coins in one batch and then accumulating additional coins in another batch.