Cv For Cto's

I collect WW and I have quite a few CTO stamps in my collection. Are the catalog values for these the same as for postally cancelled stamps? Is there a general tip in evaluating these?
Since I have been adding more of these, I was just wondering if they are adding even a small value to my collection other than filling a spot.

Generally, the retail value of CTOs is less than for genuine postally used stamps. However, I know some collectors in Europe and Asia who actually prefer CTOs. So value is rather subjective.

Different catalogs don't always treat things equally.

I'll assume you are using Scott. In general, the Scott catalog price for used stamps are for genuine postally used stamps, unless otherwise noted. You will find buried in various parts of the catalog, footnotes that will tell you certain year ranges for which the Scott catalog value for the used stamps is for CTOs (and that genuine postally used stamps are "worth" more). This will be especially true for stamps for some Eastern Europe nations (Hungary, Poland, Romania, Russia...) during the Cold War, as they churned out large quantities of CTO. The footnotes in those country will tell you the year range in which the catalog prices are for CTOs.

I should add, that the great majority of CTOs are minimum catalog value stamps. However, it is not too difficult to find a few that catalog for >$1 even as CTOs. But they are the exceptions.

Most of the CTO's I have are minimum CV, even postally used. I do sometimes find that even cancelled stamps are more than $1, but those are very few and very far between. Anyway, I don't collect stamps for the money!
I do have quite a few postally cancelled Eastern European nations stamps, but many more CTO's.
Thanks for the response, khj.

My personal opinion is that you are on the right track. Collect stamps for fun, not necessarily for profit.

I readily put CTOs in my collection, and then replace them if I happen to come across a genuine postally used stamp.

I've run into a few collectors who specialize in ONLY postally used stamps from specific countries, such as Poland or Hungary... no easy task that took them DECADES. And as I mentioned before, I've also run into a few collectors who shun postally used stamps and prefer CTOs! To each his/her own.

Enjoy your stamps Kathey, whether postally used or CTO (or even mint )

For a period of time in the history of one of the countries I collect (1960's-1970's) it is difficult to get anything but a CTO. I still keep my eye out for mint copies, and postally used on cover (a real advendure!).
Have a ball!

To answer your question most C-T-O 'S can be "packaged" on stocksheets or album pages and priced around 5 cents each and you will find buyers for them .I think we all agree that the 2 cent each boxes at stamp shows or stamp bourses are a thing of the past and no dealers would fool with them . Also the 2 cent approval books are gone .But there are still people looking to fill their albums with pages and pages of stamps with no concern about value. So I think the price of 5 cents each is realistic .But im sure someone will see it different.

There are a lot of stamps that really have no single value and are diffcult to sell as a single stamp but when presented as part of a bigger collection then they have value .There is a major seller on ebay who buys many hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of box lots ,picked-over collections,dealer lots and end of the stamp auction bulk lots and he has a staff that sorts and displays what he buys .Its no joke ,material that he is buying at a fraction of a cent per stamp ends up in his ebay offers at 5 to 9 cents each on a average and he sells tens of thousands of dollars each month for the past 10 years that I known him .

Actually, it depends on where and when the CTO is from. Some early Australian CTOs have significant value.

The beautiful pictures on a lot of the larger CTOs are what attract collectors I feel, and attracted me at times.

It is nice to have beautiful miniature pieces of real art in your collection or even representations of cats, dogs, flowers, motorcycles, animals, masks, locomotives and many other thematic or topical items of interest.

Many who collect by the catalogue and not by the topic will not value the stamps as being as worthwhile as the catalogued ones, but to a collector who enjoys appreciating beauty, you can find many beautiful things in unofficial places.

There are as many varieties of collectors as there are of stamps it seems.

Thanks everyone for your insights and discussion.
I enjoy my collection and the thrill of a new addition, whether it be mint (US mostly), postally cancelled (including some old pretty faulty ones) or CTO. All my stamps are "special" to me!

I have heard that Chinese collectors prefer their "used" PRC stamps to be CTO rather than postally used, but in general, most collectors in the US prefer postally used and Scott prices used for postally used stamps for many countries with CTO's being less, but there are some countries where they specify that the cat values are for CTO.

HOWEVER you are free to do your collection your way.