gphunt,
First, anything you can do along the lines of saying thanks to her boyfriend for his service is a wonderful thing.
Regarding the knives you are looking at, I'm confused if the 2-dot 112 under consideration is NIB (undamaged) or if it has had its tip reprofiled. Could you clarify?
Regarding collectability, two things bear mentioning. First, there are precious few aspects of pocket knives that don't have some devoted set of collectors. Second, different people approach knives in general, and Bucks in particular, differently. Some collect and some acquire knives to be used. For a first Buck, I wouldn't get hung up on its collectability or long-term value. Buck 112s are still fairly common and aren't rare. And, IMO, a person's first 112 should be a user (even it it is an older one).
Even more personally, I find that finger grooves are less needed on the 112 and more needed on the 110. The front bolster on the 112 is really wonderful and gives the knife a great feel in the hand. Some people really like the FG 112, but I wouldn't feel bad in any way in giving a non-FG model as a gift (unless your daughter has clearly heard that he really wants the FG model).
If she knows he really wants the FG model, I would just get a current model. It's a wonderful knife and a great value.
Lastly, I would feel fine buying a knife with a reworked tip for myself (I've done it knowingly) but would feel iffy about giving one as a gift.