Is this coal? What grade?

[mcl]

Hello! Need some expert advice here on coal identification. I've been digging in an area that was once an old coal mining town, and I believe I've found some of the old coal from time to time. On the other hand, maybe it isn't coal, or maybe it isn't the kind of coal that was mined in the area and is instead some kind of import (e.g., maybe it is coal someone was using to heat a house later on). The problem is that I really don't know the first thing about coal. Here's what I can tell you about the specimens I've found:

1) They are black.
2) They are shiny on some places of the surface, but matte on others.
3) They are very lightweight.
4) They are rather smooth, and feel like a piece of melted plastic when you run your finger over the surface.
5) They are composed of several layers which will flake apart without much effort.
6) If you toss them in a fire, they will soon ignite in a small fireball, burning for several minutes before starting to look like all the other wood coals in the fire.
7) They sometimes appear to contain fossils on the surface of layers.

Here are a couple of pictures of one such example.





Based on my research, I believe that this stuff is coal. But I suppose there are possibly other flammable rocks out there besides coal.

Regardless, I'm in search of some type of coal below the grade of anthracite. Possibly bituminous, possibly sub-bituminous, but the historical records really aren't that clear about the type. Let me know if you can verify the identity of this stuff!

Thank you!

 

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[woof!]

You're describing coal. I'm not real familiar with the stuff, but I don't think that fossils are normally found in anthracite. And, the fact the stuff burns nicely for a while at first suggests that it's high in organic material. Both things point toward a grade lower than anthracite.

 

[Mackaydon]

Another on-liner once wrote:

"Coal has both grade and type. It ranges from brown coals to low anthracite C. At that point the carbon content is over 98% and it can be called graphite coal. Each coal type also has a range of BTU values associated with it. The highest BTUs are associated with High Bituminous B and A coals because these coals still contain some impurities (like methane, and sulfur) that in their own combustion add to the heat per ton.

The second issue is the original depositional environment. Canal and bog coals tend to be impure from clastic sediments incorporated more frequently into the depositional process. These kinds of coal have fewer BTU per ton and result in greater ash content."
Perhaps more than a visual inspection is therefore necessary to accurately answer your question.
Don.....