They look freshly cut. The colors will darken fairly quickly. They all look plenty nice for solid risers and I wouldn't worry about the direction of grain...coco will do that. It is getting very hard to come by now too.
I would be concerned with moisture content. If you purchased from a "regular" wood supplier, it is likely to wet to glue.
As with most, they sell as quick as they can and coco can take a year +++ to dry depending on thickness and environment. I wouldn't expect them to know the truth either as if they check it for moisture and you ask if it's dry, they would likely have to tell you a story to sell it.
If they are 1 1/2" square or smaller, it is possible they could have been kiln dried, but then someone would have to cut them again as they would be much darker than the picture shows.
The big issue with coco and other exotics is the lengthy time it takes to dry. Tough to sit on that much wood waiting for it to dry.
I always get chills when I think about how much money I'm sitting on waiting for it (wood) to dry. Certainly the most expensive investment I have in bow building / supply. :(
BigJim