CTO Stamps Real Or Fake?

I'm relatively brand new to collecting and this topic is just crossing my attention. I've been gathering a worldwide collection through cheap mixed lots, just to get exposure to what's out there. I figure once I have a wide variety I will decide what interests me most and focus in on that.

I imagine a decent amount of what I've gathered so far are CTO and I didn't even know enough to notice. Now I will be on the lookout. Since I enjoy the aesthetics of the stamp designs I'm not too concerned about it, but the real postal use aspect interests me too.

I guess for now I don't know enough to have a strong opinion. I want to enjoy stamp collecting as a zero-stress activity, so I may just decide not to care in the end. I'm interested to see what those more experienced think about it

CTO's have been debated on this forum for years, just do a quick search.

CTO's! ain't crazy about them but I don't see much difference between them and the ones that go through the mail and not get cancelled. I take U.S. ones of these to the PO and have the clerk cancel them for me. is that A CTO? Actually I have German and Russian covers that have stamps that are cancelled and look like CTO's.
then again, in some cases you can only get a used copy that is a CTO. And I think they are better than used ones with those terrible black marker cancels. totally ruining the stamp, in my opinion.

In the Scott guide, they list values for New and Used? Which category does CTO fit into from Scott's perspective? I also have some CTO stamps from my childhood collection, and I doubt they're worth anything. If "rarity" is the sole criteria for value, I would imagine a CTO stamp that was postally used could be worth quite a lot to collectors of covers. I don't mean FDC's. I consider them a separate category. I think if I come across a real letter with a stamp from my CTO pages, I would not soak it. I would keep the whole envelope preserving the cancellation mark and showing that particular stamp was actually used - a rare event.

It wouldn't be CTO if it had gone through the postal system.

As GeoffHa wrote, than it would not be CTO.

CTO is a cancelled unused stamp, thus making it invalid for postal use.
The only way it can have been postally used is as an adornment of the mail item. That would put it in the same category as a sticker of a cat stuck on the item of mail.

Do as you like, collect as you like and don't let anyone else tell you how to.

i think most of us do it like that, and that being said.

i don't like CTO stamps.

i either collect stamps used for their true purpose correctly - a payment for a service, i.e an postally carried object.
or
i collect stamps because I enjoy the craftmanship that were put into them. Like the motive, the detail, the general aesthetics.

and neither of those areas have room for CTO cancels.

Catalogues should note any issued CTO as such and price them accordingly. Most never saw the soil of the country they repersent. CTO or mint but never as a used stamp.