In a coin sorting system of the foregoing type, a conventional mechanical keyboard with depressible keys is used to operate the coin sorter.  For example, a START BATCH key is pressed to initiate movement of the coin-driving member.  Coins from a batch of coins are then fed into the activated coin sorter for sorting.  After the coin sorter sorts the coins, a STOP key may be pressed to temporarily stop movement of the coin-driving member.  If additional unsorted coins remain in the batch, a CONTINUE key is pressed to re-activate the sorter and permit sorting of these additional coins.  After the entire batch of coins has been sorted, an END key is pressed following depression of the STOP key to indicate the end of the batch of coins. 
During the above operations, a display monitor adjacent the mechanical keyboard displays the status of the coin sorter.  FIGS.  1a-c are diagrammatic representations of the prior art display monitor showing exemplary statuses of the coin sorter.  For example, in response to pressing the START BATCH key, the display monitor displays "sort batch" to indicate that the coin sorter is activated and is sorting a batch of coins (FIG.  1a).  As the coin sorter sorts the batch of coins, the display monitor displays the accumulated monetary value of the sorted coins.  Furthermore, in response to pressing the STOP key and prior to pressing the END key, the display monitor displays "batch waiting" to indicate that the coin sorter is waiting for additional coins in the batch to be sorted or for the batch to be ended (FIG.  1b).  Finally, in response to pressing the END key, the display monitor displays "batch ended" to indicate that the batch has been ended (FIG.  1c). 
In addition to controlling the operation of the coin sorter, the conventional mechanical keyboard may be employed for information retrieval purposes.  FIGS.  2a-d are diagrammatic representations of the display monitor showing different types of information which can be retrieved via the keyboard for display on the display monitor.  More specifically, a MODE/COIN key is pressed to move a display cursor to line 2 of the display monitor (FIG.  2a).  Next, arrow keys (e.g., &lt;and &gt;) are used to move the display cursor to a desired mode.  The number on the upper right side of the display in FIG.  2b is the coin value for the mode selected with the cursor.  For illustrative purposes, the selectable modes include BAT, S/B, BAG, and DAY.  In the BAT mode, the number on the upper right side of the display denotes the total coin value of the current batch.  In the S/B mode, the number on the upper side of the display denotes the total coin value for the current sub-batch.  In the BAG mode, the displayed number denotes the total coin value in all bags capturing the sorted coins.  In the DAY mode, the displayed number denotes the total value of all coins run since the last time DAY totals were cleared.  While the display cursor is in a particular mode, the MODE/COIN key is pressed again and the arrow keys are used to view the total coin value for each coin denomination (FIGS.  2b and 2c).  Pressing the MODE/COIN key a third time indicates the current operating mode (FIG.  2d). 
The coin sorter may be connected to a primer to generate a primed report for a sorted batch of coins.  To designate the source of the sorted batch of coins, the printed report is provided with four data entry fields with respective labels A, B, C, and D. These labels are assigned numeric codes to indicate the source of a coin batch.  The numeric codes are entered using numeric keys 0 through 9 on the mechanical keyboard.  If, for example, the coin sorter is owned by a vending company which has drivers #1, #2, and #3 picking up coins from customers X, Y, and Z, fields A and B on a batch report may be numerically labelled to represent the particular driver (route) and customer associated with the coin batch.  Field A, for instance, may be labelled with the numeric code 123-456-7890 and field B may be labelled with the numeric code 331245. 
The operation of the coin sorter using the foregoing operator interface panel (mechanical keyboard and display monitor) is further described in the JetSort. RTM.3000 Series Operator's Manual available from Cummins-Allison Corp. of Mount Prospect, Ill.
From the perspective of an operator, the foregoing operator interface panel is relatively unfriendly to the operator.  For example, the labels A, B, C, and D for the data entry fields must be decoded to ascertain their meaning.  It would be preferable to allow the operator to label the data entry fields with meaningful terms, such as words from a spoken language such as English, in addition to or in place of the labels A, B, C, and D. Although the mechanical keyboard could be expanded to include keys covering the letters of an alphabet, such an expanded keyboard would occupy a large amount of space on the interface panel.  Alternatively, the interface panel could be modified to allow selection of letters displayed on the display monitor using the arrow keys to move a display cursor.  This, however, would be a time-consuming operation. 
The operator interface panel also provides an operator with little flexibility because the operator cannot easily customize the mechanical keyboard or the display monitor to best suit the needs of the operator.  For example, the operator cannot delete keys, reposition keys, change keytop legends, etc.  An operator having no use for a particular coin denomination such as pennies cannot delete all mechanical keys and references to that coin denomination.  Furthermore, the operator cannot modify the complexity of the operator interface panel to match the level of operator experience.  The number of keys on the keyboard may be overwhelming to a novice but appropriate for an experienced operator. 
From the perspective of a manufacturer, the foregoing operator interface panel is disadvantageous because modifications to the interface panel involve changing the hardware associated with the interface panel.  Hardware modifications are relatively time-consuming and expensive.  As a result, the manufacturer cannot easily correct design errors, make field updates, or produce coin sorting machines dedicated to special environments. 
A need therefore exists for a coin sorting system having an operator interface panel capable of overcoming the above-noted shortcomings associated with the foregoing type of operator interface panel.