Ron,
No, not stupid.
About Colt Historian requests:
When one calls Colt for info on a gun, the historian will answer one question about the gun over the phone for $35. (For situations just such as this one.)
If you then decide to request the letter at that time, there's no charge for the one question, and only the cost of the letter is charged.
About Ivory grips (I can see they're genuine ivory):
Ivory that "letters" to the gun as originally factory installed enhance the value over that of a gun with Ivory grips added later.
Reason I asked:
But the box end label is not marked "ivory" at the factory as is "usually" typical for factory original premium grips, and I couldn't read the option box notation.