(57) The invention is concerned with a method and apparatus for sorting articles from a series of batched collection of articles so that a tally is kept of how many articles of a given type are received from each one of a variety of sources in a series of batched collections. The method avoids the task of attaching an identification tag to each article, and includes the steps of attaching each of said articles in a collection (24) sequentially to clip means (20) associated with a transporter device, attaching, adjacent to the sequentially suspended collection of articles, means (21) indicating, by use of coded data provided thereupon, the origin or identity of the collection, moving the clip means (20) and the articles suspended therefrom along the transporter device (10), viewing each article on the transporter device at a data keying station (22) and keying data to a computer to identify the type of article and its sequential position in the collection on the transporter device, forwarding the articles to a series of switch means (18A) and causing selected ones of said switch means to operate to open a clip means (20) in a computer-controlled sequence determined by the keyed-in identifying data so that all articles of any one type are released at a pre-determined position (28) on the transporter device appropriate to that type.