Datapack Codex

Block of Coal

Minecraft Wiki article. Categories: Renewable_resources, Stackable_resources, Pages_using_simple_calculator, Pages_with_sound_tables, Pages_with_Java_sound_tables, Pages_with_Bedrock_sound_tables, Pages_with_YouTube_videos, Blocks…

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This article is reproduced from Block of Coal on the Minecraft Wiki. Mirrored from revision 3714998. It is licensed CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 by the Minecraft Wiki contributors — not under the Codex’s CC BY-SA 4.0, and it may not be used commercially. Edits belong upstream, not here.

On this page
Block of Coal
Block of Coal.png: Infobox image for Minecraft block 'Block of Coal'
Invicon Block of Coal.png: Inventory sprite for Block of Coal in Minecraft as shown in-game with description: Block of Coal
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            "field": "Yes",
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            "field": "Yes (64)",
            "label": "Stackable"
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        {
            "field": "<span class=\"sprite-file\" to File:Invicon Wooden Pickaxe.png article, displayed as 32x32px|link=|alt=Invicon Wooden Pickaxe.png: Sprite image for Wooden Pickaxe in Minecraft|class=pixel-image|A wooden pickaxe or better is required to mine this block)</span>",
            "label": "Tool"
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            "field": "6",
            "label": "(link to Explosion#Blast resistance article, displayed as Blast resistance)"
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            "field": "5",
            "label": "(link to Breaking#Blocks by hardness article, displayed as Hardness)"
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        {
            "field": "No",
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        },
        {
            "field": "No",
            "label": "(link to Opacity article, displayed as Transparent)"
        },
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            "field": "Yes (5)",
            "label": "(link to Fire#Flammable blocks article, displayed as Flammable)"
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        {
            "field": "No",
            "label": "Catches fire<br>from (link to lava article, displayed as lava)"
        },
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            "field": "<span nowrap;\"><span inline-block; background-color: rgb(25, 25, 25); border: 1px solid #888; border-radius: 0.3em; color: transparent; width: 1em; height: 1em; vertical-align: -0.36em; margin-right: -0.1em\"><br></span> 29 COLOR<wbr/>_BLACK</span>",
            "label": "(link to Map item format#Color table article, displayed as Map color)"
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            "field": "'''(link to Java Edition article, displayed as JE):''' Bass Drum<br>'''(link to Bedrock Edition article, displayed as BE):''' Default (Harp)",
            "label": "(link to Note Block#Instruments article, displayed as Note block instrument)"
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        {
            "field": "Regular",
            "label": "(link to Sulfur Cube#Archetypes article, displayed as Sulfur cube archetype)"
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A block of coal, also known as a coal block, is a storage block, equivalent to nine coal, that can also be used as fuel.

Obtaining

Breaking

Blocks of coal can be mined using any pickaxe. If mined without a pickaxe, it drops nothing.

Block Block of Coal
Hardness 5
Tool
Breaking time (sec)[A]
Default 25
ItemSprite wooden-pickaxe.png: Sprite image for wooden-pickaxe in MinecraftWooden 3.75
ItemSprite stone-pickaxe.png: Sprite image for stone-pickaxe in MinecraftStone 1.9
ItemSprite copper-pickaxe.png: Sprite image for copper-pickaxe in MinecraftCopper 1.5
ItemSprite iron-pickaxe.png: Sprite image for iron-pickaxe in MinecraftIron 1.25
ItemSprite diamond-pickaxe.png: Sprite image for diamond-pickaxe in MinecraftDiamond 0.95
ItemSprite netherite-pickaxe.png: Sprite image for netherite-pickaxe in MinecraftNetherite 0.85
ItemSprite golden-pickaxe.png: Sprite image for golden-pickaxe in MinecraftGolden 0.65
Options
Efficiency
000
Haste
001
1JEBE
Legend
  • incorrect tool, drops nothing
  • correct tool, drops nothing or something other than the block itself
  • correct tool, drops the block itself
  • italicized can be instant mined
  1. ↑ These durations ignore any other influential factors (e.g., Mining Fatigue) and are measured in seconds. For more information, see Breaking § Mining efficiency.

Natural generation

Blocks of coal can generate in trail ruins.

Crafting

Blocks of coal can be crafted only from regular coal, not charcoal. It is crafted in the same way as other mineral blocks.

Ingredients Crafting recipe
Coal
Invicon Coal.png: Inventory sprite for Coal in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Coal with description: CoalInvicon Coal.png: Inventory sprite for Coal in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Coal with description: CoalInvicon Coal.png: Inventory sprite for Coal in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Coal with description: CoalInvicon Coal.png: Inventory sprite for Coal in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Coal with description: CoalInvicon Coal.png: Inventory sprite for Coal in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Coal with description: CoalInvicon Coal.png: Inventory sprite for Coal in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Coal with description: CoalInvicon Coal.png: Inventory sprite for Coal in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Coal with description: CoalInvicon Coal.png: Inventory sprite for Coal in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Coal with description: CoalInvicon Coal.png: Inventory sprite for Coal in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Coal with description: Coal
Invicon Block of Coal.png: Inventory sprite for Block of Coal in Minecraft as shown in-game with description: Block of Coal

Usage

Blocks of coal are often used to store coal in a compact fashion, or otherwise used as a fairly cheap construction block.

Crafting ingredient

Name Ingredients Crafting recipe
Coal Block of Coal

Fuel

Blocks of coal can be used as fuel in a furnace. One block of coal lasts 800 seconds (16000 ticks), which smelts 80 items. This is ten times the duration of a single piece of coal and 11⁄9 times as efficient (+11.11%) as nine individual pieces of coal, which would only smelt 72 items. The latter, however, prevents inactive furnace use; while smelting one item with one coal wastes seven potential items, smelting one item with one block of coal wastes 79 potential items.

Sounds

Java Edition:

BlockSprite stone.png: Sprite image for stone in Minecraft stone sound type
SoundClosed captionsSourceDescriptionIdentifierTranslation keyVolumePitchAttenuation
distance
​Block brokenBlocksOnce the block has brokenblock.stone.breaksubtitles.block.generic.break​1.00.816
​Block placedBlocksWhen the block is placedblock.stone.placesubtitles.block.generic.place​1.00.816
​Block breakingBlocksWhile the block is in the process of being brokenblock.stone.hitsubtitles.block.generic.hit​0.250.516
​Something falls on a blockEntity-DependentFalling on the block with fall damageblock.stone.fallsubtitles.block.generic.fall​0.50.7516
​FootstepsEntity-DependentWalking on the blockblock.stone.stepsubtitles.block.generic.footsteps​0.151.016

Bedrock Edition:

BlockSprite stone.png: Sprite image for stone in Minecraft stone sound type
SoundClosed captionsSourceDescriptionIdentifierTranslation keyVolumePitch
​Block brokenBlocksOnce the block has brokendig.stonesubtitles.block.generic.break​1.00.8–1.0
​Block placedBlocksWhen the block is placedplace.stonesubtitles.block.generic.place​1.00.8–1.0
​Block breakingBlocksWhile the block is in the process of being brokenhit.stonesubtitles.block.generic.hit​0.370.5
​FootstepsPlayersFalling on the block with fall damagefall.stonesubtitles.block.generic.footsteps​0.41.0
​FootstepsPlayersWalking on the blockstep.stonesubtitles.block.generic.footsteps​0.31.0
​FootstepsBlocksJumping from the blockjump.stonesubtitles.block.generic.footsteps​0.121.0
​FootstepsBlocksFalling on the block without fall damageland.stonesubtitles.block.generic.footsteps​0.221.0

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

NameIdentifierFormBlock tags Translation key
BlockSprite block-of-coal.png: Sprite image for block-of-coal in Minecraft Block of Coalcoal_blockBlock & Itemmineable/pickaxe block.minecraft.coal_block

Bedrock Edition:

NameIdentifierNumeric ID FormItem ID[i 1] Translation key
BlockSprite block-of-coal.png: Sprite image for block-of-coal in Minecraft Block of Coalcoal_block173Block & Giveable Item[i 2]Identical[i 3] tile.coal_block.name
  1. ↑ ID of block's direct item form, which is used in savegame files and addons.
  2. ↑ Available with /give command.
  3. ↑ The block's direct item form has the same ID as the block.

Videos

History

Development

April 5, 2013Coal blocks were mentioned by Dinnerbone,[1] after their existence in Minecraft 2.0. These would apparently be difficult to implement due to an analogous block made of charcoal requiring a separate block ID due to "logical issues".

Java Edition

Java Edition
1.6.113w18a Added blocks of coal.
Blocks of coal utilize the same texture as from the April Fools' Day update.
The smelting time for block of coal is 720 seconds.
13w18cThe smelting time for a block of coal has been changed to 800 seconds.
13w19a The texture of blocks of coal has been changed.
Blocks of coal are now flammable.
1.1418w43a The texture of blocks of coal has been changed.
1.2023w16aBlocks of coal can now generate in trail ruins.
26.2snap1Added sulfur cubes, which have the ability to absorb blocks of coal, providing the football/regular effect to the mob.

Bedrock Edition

Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.8.0build 1 Added blocks of coal.
Bedrock Edition
1.10.0beta 1.10.0.3 The texture of blocks of coal has been changed.
1.20.0Blocks of coal can now generate in trail ruins.
26.20
Experiment
Drop 2 of 2026		Preview 26.20.23Added sulfur cubes, which have the ability to absorb blocks of coal, providing the football/regular effect to the mob.
26.30Preview 26.30.20Implemented all features from the "Drop 2 of 2026" experiment in vanilla gameplay.

Legacy Console Edition

Legacy Console Edition
Xbox 360Xbox OnePS3PS4PS VitaWii USwitch
TU19CU71.121.121.12Patch 11.0.1 Added blocks of coal.
1.90 The texture of blocks of coal has been changed.

New Nintendo 3DS Edition

New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0 Added blocks of coal.

Data history

Java Edition
1.814w11bBlocks of coal with numerical metadata variants 1 through 15, which are inaccessible through normal gameplay, now have no model rather than appearing identical to blocks of coal.
14w26aBlock metadata has been completely removed from this snapshot onwards with the introduction of block states. As this block never used block metadata at all prior to this version, fifteen unused, inaccessible metadata variants of it have been completely removed from the game:
DV Description
BlockSprite block-of-coal.png: Sprite image for block-of-coal in Minecraft 0 Block of Coal
BlockSprite missingno.png: Sprite image for missingno in Minecraft 1-15 Inaccessible "boring" variants of blocks of coal
1.1317w47aPrior to The Flattening, this block's numeral ID was 173.

Issues

Issues relating to "Block of Coal" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

Trivia

  • Blocks of coal cannot be used as fuel for the minecart with furnace.
  • A full stack of coal blocks should smelt for 14.2 hours – over 42 Minecraft days. That is over 50 times as many items as a lava bucket. However, the player needs 576 coal or 9 stacks of coal to do this.

Screenshots

In other media

See also

References

  1. ↑ "@LuxurioMusic No. Logical issues with crafting and destroying. There would have to be separate coal/charcoal blocks which isn't nice." – @Dinnerbone (Nathan Adams) on X (formerly Twitter), April 5, 2013

Sources

Datapack Codex — The all-versions Minecraft data pack reference. Community reference; not affiliated with Mojang Studios or Microsoft. “Minecraft” is a trademark of Mojang Synergies AB.

Primary syntax targets Minecraft Java Edition 1.21+ (singular folder names). Version-specific behaviour is flagged inline and mapped on the pack_format history page.