> Most exchanges and corporations don't even go by a paper certificate,
Except the ones that do. You're right; most don't by default, but if you DO have valid paper certificate, it is a bearer instrument. Who owns it, owns it.
Can confirm that I still have the ability to request certificates on demand just by filling out a form in the online account manager.
(As an Australian, the idea that stock certificates are still something that exists at all for publicly-listed companies absolutely astounds me, but anyway...)
>> Delaware corporate law requires companies to issue stock certificates but most rarely do.
I don't think this is actually true. If I recall correctly, it's possible to set your company up in a way in which stock certificates are actually not required. Delaware corporate law explicitly recognizes this possibility (http://delcode.delaware.gov/title8/c001/sc05/#158).
And, as a recovering lawyer who billed far too much time printing out stock certificates and attending to other inane cap table management issues, I'd strongly recommend asking your lawyer to set your company up as uncertificated if it isn't already. There's no real value to the company to issue actual certificates (they don't provide any additional legal "truth" that doesn't already exist in other legal agreements), but there are consequences to screwing up or misplacing a stock certificate.
I don't know of any papers, but for verified certificates from Coursera, you validate your identity via a webcam selfie and typing their one sentence honor code into an input field.
Certificates lose their meaning if they are doled out willy-nilly. Hence, Coursera has to implement (or at least try to) some sophisticated verification technology. This stuff doesn't come cheap; who's going to pay for it?
Me, personally, I don't care about certificates. I want the knowledge; and that is still free. Methinks the OP is making a big deal about a piece of paper.
Does anyone know of a company that accepts any of their certificates as valuable? I am curious to see if they are actually making a difference in the employment markets.
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