Best way to get a coal/anthracite fire started?

Anthracite Coal requires a special fixture in the stove that consists of a combustion blower feeding combustion air through holes in a cast iron plate underneath the coal. Anthracite will not burn without a forced and regulated flow of combustion air through it. The coal is pushed over the holes by a motorized feeder that is controlled with a timing mechanism. Depending on the setting, the temperature can be controlled from off through to high. A very low feed rate will bank the glowing coal so that it stays lighted but uses very little coal (banking the coal). The stove described is called a "stoker". A stoker requires "rice" sized Anthracite coal. The stocker feeds from a hopper located outside the stove. The coal is pushed from the bottom of the hopper by a motor driven (timed) mechanism over the combustion plate. When the coal reaches the holes, and only then, will it be able to burn... and it burns very hot since it is almost graphite. As the burning coal is pushed over the plat area with holes, the coal continues to burn and by the time it reaches the end of the plate, the coal is reduced to ash.
Note that rice coal ash gets into the air delivery channel through the holes and, in time, blocks the flow of air from the combustion fan to the holes so make sure the passage is cleaned out otherwise you will be wasting your time trying to get your coal started.
The stoker stove does not require the heavy cast iron body as does a regular coal stove since all of the extremely hot combustion takes place on the cast iron combustion plate. The heat from combustion comes off as radiant heat and heats to steel case, which , in turn radiates heat in the form of ....radiant heat. Radiant heat heats every object it strikes evenly. A convection blower can be used to pick off heated air and blow it into the room. This heat is convection heat and convection heat naturally rises.
Because of the nature of Anthracite, it requires a tremendous amount of heat (plus the air) to get it started. A heat gun will not do it because the air must be sustained continuously.
Here is how you start it. Buy a starter cube. They cost $1.00 each and can be purchased from a coal dealer. It contains magnesium and an oxidizer and has a wick the same as a firecracker. It is essentially a form of Thermite. A small flare shares similar chemistry and temperature. Some forms of Thermite can burn so hot that they can melt steel and weld rails together. A charcoal starter is made from wax and wood with a wax string wick and will absolutely not start Anthracite since it is far too cold to do the job. Forget hair dryers, heat guns, wood and paper.
Now the procedure: Fold a piece of legal paper long ways so that when you are finished you will have a folded paper 1-1/2" by 14. Bring the ends together and overlap them and hold them with a paperclip so that you have a 4" diameter paper circle 1-1/2" high. Shut off the blower that supplies the air coming through the holes. Clear the coal off of the plate with the holes and place the paper ring in the center of the plate area with the holes. Place the starter cube with the wick end up in the center of the circle. Fill the circle with Anthracite so that it covers the starter cube but not the end of the wick. Put additional coal (1" deep) behind the starter circle so that it connects to the feed area coal. If the area behind the starter circle does not contain any coal, the coal fed from the hopper will arrive too late to replace the coal you have started so you will have to start all over again. The coal behind the starter ring will be pushed into the burn area immediately and continue the burn. Place a square of toilet paper over the starter circle and turn on the blower that feeds air into the holes for combustion for a second or two to see if the square is lifted somewhat by the air... the more the better. If it is not, that means there are ashes in the delivery channel. Turn on the feed air blower off but be prepared to turn it on again. With your butane charcoal lighter (dollar store), light the fuse (the blower was turned off because the lighter will not light with the air blowing on it). The fuse will continue to burn in moving air, so turn the combustion blower back on. Shut the door and watch through the glass so that the door can contain the fumes from the starter. Do not open the door or disturb anything on the combustion plate. Adjust the stocker timer so that it is on a low setting. Give it at least 45 minutes for the ignition to spread over the entire holed area of the combustion plate. Good Luck