Electronic delivery of counterfeit-resistant documents exchangeable for
value such as admission tickets, gift certificates, coupons, vouchers,
etc. directly to the person who ordered the documents over an open
communications network such at the Internet. A first party orders a
document from a second party, and the second party electronically
delivers the ordered, counterfeit-resistant document to a device
designated by the first party. For example, the document may be
electronically ordered using a PC, and a printer coupled to the PC may
print the document. Alternatively, the electronic information may be
provided to a fax, or the document ordered by telephone and
electronically delivered to a PC or fax. The document may be made
counterfeit resistant by assigning unique information to each document of
a given type, e.g., admission tickets, and checking the uniqueness of a
document prior to allowing it to be exchanged for value.