1. A method of re-orienting an image of a media item, comprising: determining at least one linear array formed by a plurality of locations associated with an image of a media item, wherein determining further includes obtaining at least a portion of the image from an array of infrared Light Emitting Diodes that illuminate across an edge of the media item, wherein each of the plurality of locations is associated with one of a plurality of letters or numerals of a serial number present in the image of the media item, and aligning the at least one linear array with a boundary of the serial number; determining a skew angle of said linear array with respect to a reference axis by concentrating on black pixels located on a lower boundary of the serial number present in the image of the media item as a reference, and determining the skew angle is based only processing those portions of the media image having the serial number; and re-orienting said image by rotating said image responsive to said skew angle and providing the re-oriented image to a media item validator for counterfeit determination of the media item.