John Reznikoff Resume
Business Career
- 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 on 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 Mormons, consultant concerning handwriting authenticity
- 2020 – Taped two broadcasted segments of Pawn Stars, on important artifacts of 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 Forbes family to sell balance of Forbes Manuscript Collection
- 2019 – Contracted by Ralph Lauren to curate an exhibit nationwide in their stores of authentic Presidential relics, for a related book launch
- 2019 – Selected by Doris Kearns Goodwin for archive evaluation 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, MA
- 2018 – A lead witness for the State vs. Doraine Reed, longest running criminal case on the CT docket. Testimony lead to the conviction of a forger
- 2018 – Twice used as expert by New York Times in separate cases regarding 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 television, appearing on air as 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 (NGC) 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 Its 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 Star Spangled Banner and Valley Forge map
- 2012 - Sold the longest known handwritten letter of Thomas Jefferson - 49 pages
- 2012 - Present - Voted to the prestigious Board of Universal Autograph Collectors Club (UACC)
- 2011 – Hired by private investors to authenticate Jackie Robinson Major League 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 most important Robert E. Lee letter to his brother resigning his U. S. Army commission to take up arms for the Confederacy (Sothebys 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 Charles Lindbergh for a July 2011 episode of History Detectives
- 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, February 2011.
- 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 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 3 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 2nd 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 for the largest and most respected service of its kind, 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 by 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 their 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 1998 - Appraised the Johnson family papers, a historically important archive containing multiple letters of Abigail and John Adams, for IRS donation purposes.
- 1997 – Present - Authenticated and appraised the Hemingway and other papers of A.E. Hotchner, included the formative archive for Newman’s Own Brands.
- 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 - Appraised the Charles A. Lindbergh checks which purchased the "Spirit of St. Louis".
- 1998 - Aided the New York Grand Jury in securing an indictment and conviction of the perpetrator of a major manuscript fraud.
- 1997 - Purchased the largest Presidential bill-signing pen collection in private hands, including pens used by Lincoln, FDR, JFK, and LBJ.
- 1997 – 1998 - Purchased and marketed the papers of Constitution signer John Langdon, which realized $700,000.00 in sales.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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, both third, fourth and seventh editions in 1994, 1996 and 2009 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 of political science and anthropology, 1978-1981