Stopped by a demo at the Pioneer Village in Minden, Nebraska and the smith there swore by coal over gas
He said his great granddad's forge ran coal and that gas makes you lazy about watching the fire, but the two young guys running the gas forge next to him just smiled and kept working, so which one of them is really right?
My uncle Sal ran a coal grill for 20 years at his pizza shop in Jersey and only switched to gas when his knees gave out. He still swears the coal pies tasted better, but he said nothing beat not having to babysit the fire at 6am. Sometimes easier wins out over better, even for a stubborn old guy like him.