Josh in CT asked,

<<  I though it was peculiar to find four identical planes.. any 
 ideas why one would want four of the same plane? >>

Schools sometimes had multiples of a given tool distinguished by numbers so 
they could be signed out to individual students.  Some shops, too, although a 
coffin smoother is a pretty common tool and should have been in the personal 
toolbox of anyone hired by a woodworking shop.

Just a thought,

John Wadsworth, in Delhi, NY