Business Career

• 2023 – Served as historical documents expert in major segment of Netflix series, King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch, filmed at the Museum of the American Revolution

• 2023 – Served as Einstein manuscripts and documents expert and interviewed for Benyamin Cohen's book, The Einstein Effect (Sourcebooks, 2023)

• 2023 – Featured speaker on historical documents and relics at Brigandi's Collectors Night 5.0, Brigandi Coins & Collectibles, NYC

• 2023 – Appointed director of new UACC (Universal Autograph Collectors Club)

• 2022 – Consulted twice by CNN on air concerning presidential books and relics


• 2021 – Selected by NYACT (largest anti-fraud conference) as a featured speaker on questioned documents


• 2021 – Featured in an article in Business Insider as advisor to Google executive


• 2021 – Selected by the family of Walter P. Chrysler to appraise and authenticate items for the Chrysler Museum, Auburn Hills, Michigan


• 2021 – Featured contributor to Netflix series Murder Among the Mormonsas a handwriting authenticator

• 2020 – Taped two broadcasted segments of Pawn Stars on important artifacts associated with Ludwig van Beethoven and Frank Lloyd Wright

• 2019-2021 – Selected by the Jack Kerouac heirs to appraise, authenticate and market the balance of his estate

• 2019-2021 – Selected by the Forbes family to sell balance of the Forbes Manuscript Collection

• 2019 – Contracted by Ralph Lauren to curate a nationwide exhibit of authentic presidential relics in their stores for a related book launch

• 2019 – Selected by Doris Kearns Goodwin to evaluate the papers of her late husband, Richard Goodwin
  

• 2019 – Appraiser for multiple high-value donations to Kenneth Rendell’s Museum of World War II, recently acquired by Ronald Lauder

• 2018 –Sole appraiser and authenticator for the Patton Family Archives, a multi-million dollar archive donated to General Patton’s home town of Hamilton, Massachusetts

• 2018 – A lead witness for the State vs. Doraine Reed, the longest-running criminal case on the Connecticut docket. Testimony led to the conviction of a forger

• 2018 – Twice used as expert by the New York Times in separate cases regarding the authenticity and value of presidential artifacts and manuscripts (George Washington and John F. Kennedy)

• 2018 – Consulted as an expert for news article run by The Washington Post, NBC News, London’s Daily Mail, the Chicago Tribune, AOL, the New York Post, and more

• 2017 – Consulted by, and quoted in the New York Times regarding the value of Alexander Hamilton letters in the marketplace

• 2016 – Consulted by ESPN appearing on air as an expert on authenticity for the most valuable document ever to be offered for sale ($36 million)

• 2015 – Multiple international media interviews including BBC

• 2014 & 2015 – Featured in two episodes of Secrets of the Arsenal on the American Heroes Channel as manuscript and historical expert

• 2014 – Appeared on top investigative show Inside Edition as “an expert in historic signatures”

• 2014 – Authenticated and sold the Sang collection of Signers of the Declaration of Independence for more than $1,000,000

• 2014 – Testified in Federal Court as appraiser and relic and manuscript authenticator. Largely responsible for nearly $7,000,000 verdict against the Country of Venezuela

• 2013 – Consulted by CBS News as expert on questioned signatures “Reznikoff…one of the best in the world”

• 2013 - Filmed with National Geographic Channel for documentary detailing the Kennedy Assassination

• 2013 – Appeared on Fox TV and ABC TV as "leading document and signature authenticator"

• 2013 – Appeared in New York Times "Antiques" section with photo credit and significant mention concerning the Kennedy Assassination

• 2012 - 2013 – Appeared and featured as an expert on several episodes of VH1's pop culture show For What It's Worth, hosted by Howard Stern sidekick, Gary Dell'Abate (Baba Booey)

• 2012 - 2013 – Provided authenticity opinions for many items on Pawn Stars.  Assisted recurring book and manuscript expert

• 2012 - 2013 – Filmed and appeared in two episodes of History Detectives on PBS as document examiner. Included subjects were the star-spangled banner and a Valley Forge map

• 2012 – Sold the longest known handwritten letter of Thomas Jefferson (49 pages)

• 2012 - Present – Elected to the prestigious Board of Universal Autograph Collectors Club (UACC)

• 2011 – Hired by private investors to authenticate Jackie Robinson's Major League Baseball contract, one of the most important documents in American history

• 2011– Authenticated and sold important Lincoln archive priced at $1.6 million

• 2011 – Authenticated and sold arguably the most important Robert E. Lee letter to his brother resigning his U. S. Army commission to take up arms for the Confederacy (Sotheby's estimate $400,000 - $600,000)

• 2011 – Authenticated and sold most important Supreme Court item: Justice John McLean's draft for dissenting opinion in Dred Scott case

• 2011 – Handwriting and relic expert on 2011 episode of History Detectives,"Charles Lindbergh for a July"

• 2011 – Hired by The History Channel as handwriting expert for Custer's Last Man: I Survived Little Big Horn

• 2011 – Featured on This American Life series on NPR Radio

• 2010 - 2011 – Multiple questioned document cases including testimony and deposition. In one case, testimony in court led to arrest of defendant for forgery

• 2010 – Introduced the first-ever YouTube video series on authenticating signatures of famous people

• 2010 – Made worldwide news by purchasing President Barack Obama's Jeep

• 2009 – IADA (International Autograph Dealers Association) Person of the Year, 2009

• 2009 – Universal Autograph Collector’s Club Names John Reznikoff “Autograph Dealer of the Year” for 2009 (Click under “Hall of Fame” at UACC’s website)

• 2008 – Helped Vanity Fair magazine disprove the claim of an individual posing as President John F. Kennedy's son

• 2008 – Featured in the New York Times article

• 2007-2008 – Hired by private individual in handwriting case involving Earthlink with $300,000,000 at dispute

• 2006 - Present – Hired by state government as handwriting expert in three murder cases, one of them a death penalty case

• 2007 – Authenticator and consultant and guest on History Detectives, a PBS television program

• 2006 - Present – Expert for the second-largest concern of its kind, James Spence Authentication. Only authenticator to opine for both #1 PSA/DNA and # 2 JSA

• 2006 - Present – Trained with forensic experts on the most advanced document examination machine available, the video spectral comparator. Purchased the VSC4plus, not available to the general public, making him the only individual dealer in the trade to employ such a device

• 2005 - 2011 – Expert witness for Collectors Universe, a public company, in various litigation matters, including a $10 million lawsuit

• 2005 - present – Authenticator and consultant for Bauman Rare Books, Madison Avenue, the largest rare book dealer in the world

• 2005 –  Authenticator for the Henry Luhrs collection, a multi-million dollar auction at Heritage Americana, focusing primarily on Abraham Lincoln

• 2006 – First approved authenticator/appraiser for UACC, the largest trade organization in the field. Sole person designated to opine on "famous figures" at that time

• 2004 - Present – Designated authenticator for American and Historical Autographs, the largest and most respected service of its kind, and PSA/DNA, the last word in authenticity

• 2003 - Present – Authenticator and consultant for R&R Auctions, one of the largest concerns of its kind

• 2002 – Consulted for CNN, ESPN, the Boston Herald, and the St. Petersburg Times regarding the authenticity of the Ted Williams bio-stasis preservation document

• 2001 - 2008 – Authenticator and consultant for MastroNet, Inc., a conglomerate of memorabilia auctioneers with an excess of $30 million in annual sales

• 2001 – Engaged by the Albert Schweitzer Institute for Humanities to value and market its huge archive of materials to be de-accessioned. Marketed and arranged a sale that grossed a six-figure payment from another institution

• 2000 – Plaintiff's expert witness in Joey Giardello vs. Universal Pictures et al. Evaluated harm caused Giardello by misrepresentation in the hit movie The Hurricane. Report was instrumental in achieving a major financial settlement

• 2000 – Agent and spokesperson for Peggy Davis, owner of moon rock valued at $1 million. Successfully challenged NASA, who seized the artifact, and helped secure its return

• 1999 – Expert witness on behalf of George Pickett V, involving a dispute concerning the papers and artifacts of Gen. George Pickett of "Pickett's Charge" fame. Testified on authenticity and value. Our client won a verdict approaching seven figures, which matched our appraisal

• 1998 - 1999 – Expert for the United States Department of Justice in one of the largest civil actions ever filed against the Government, in which the Nixon family sought $210 million in compensation for the taking of his papers. Consulted on authenticity and value, 1998-1999. In a report used in testimony, appraised the archive at $1.5 million, which approximated the June 2000 settlement of $18 million (accounting for 25 years of compounded interest). Instrumental in saving U.S. taxpayers $190 million

• 1998 – Appraised the Johnson family papers, a historically important archive containing multiple letters of Abigail and John Adams, for IRS donation purposes

• 1998 - Aided the New York Grand Jury in securing an indictment and conviction of the perpetrator of a major manuscript fraud

• 1998 – Authenticated and appraised Hemingway's first book, signed and inscribed to his first wife, on behalf of Jack Hemingway and the Library of Congress

• 1997 - 1998 – Purchased and marketed the papers of Constitution signer John Langdon, which realized $700,000 in sales

• 1997 - Present – Authenticated and appraised the Hemingway and other papers of A.E. Hotchner, including the formative archive for Newman’s Own Brands

• 1997 - Appraised the Charles A. Lindbergh checks which purchased the "Spirit of St. Louis"

• 1997 – Purchased the largest presidential bill-signing pen collection in private hands, including pens used by Lincoln, FDR, JFK, and LBJ

• 1996 – Expert witness for numerous civil and criminal cases, including the Bartlett Tree Company embezzlement case

• 1996 – Expert witness for the defense of Historical Documents, Inc. regarding the famous John Paul Getty diaries. Helped in setting the archives value at approximately $2 million. Report was instrumental in causing the Getty family to settle before trial

• 1995 - Present – Purchased and marketed directly from the families of: General George S. Patton, Lee Harvey Oswald, Greta Garbo, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Barack Obama, and several others

• 1985 – Worked undercover in a sting operation with postal inspectors to apprehend a postal felon

Publications, Press and Lectures

• Contributing editor of Autograph Collector. Authored dozens of articles from 1995 - 2009

• Authored complete chapters in The Sanders Price Guide to Autographs, the third, fourth, and seventh editions in 1994, 1996 and 2009 respectively, on the subject of authentication

• Authored numerous articles in Manuscripts, Pen and Quill, Linn's, American Philatelist and other trade publications from 1985 - Present

• Appeared on Good Morning, America!, Extra, Court TV, and other television media 1985 - Present

• Appeared on hundreds of radio stations worldwide, currently host of What's It Worth? on WICC radio

• Have appeared in hundreds of publications worldwide including the New York Times, Smithsonian, Millionaire, and Newsweek from 1980 - Present

• Have lectured extensively on manuscripts to various groups from 1985 - Present

• Have Guinness Book of World's Records entry for related field

Associations

• Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) compliant through August 24, 2023

• UACC Board of Directors Member, 2012 - Present

• President of the International Autograph Dealers Association, 2001-2002

• Vice President of the International Autograph Dealers Association, 1998-2000

• Recipient of the Mary A. Benjamin Outstanding Achievement Award for Establishing the IACC/DA Authenticating Service, 1999

• Conceived and founded the Professional Autographs Dealers Association. Past Vice-President 1993-1997

• (candidate), New England Association of Appraisers

• Charter member of the Universal Autograph Collectors Club

• One of the select few in the industry to be chosen as a Sotheby's Associate for Internet Auctions, 1999-2002

Education

• Fordham University, double major in political science and anthropology, 1978-1981