How Hot Should My Ignition Coil Get

EDIT---I see I was typing this as others were, as well

Without knowing the specific part number, impossible to say

You say it operates "directly off 12V" Are you CERTAIN that is correct? Do you have specific document that states this? The fact is that NORMAL U.S. automobiles all the way from the first 12V cars to well into the 80's when EFI finally began to change things, do NOT use a coil which runs directly off 12V and there IS A VERY good reason for this

Whether GM, Ford, AMC, or Mopar, all systems used to work exactly the same----

You use a coil in combination with a ballast resistor or in-harness resistance wire which "runs" off the RUNNING SYSTEM (which runs at 14V, not 12)

The entire reason for this is so that when CRANKING, when battery voltage is LOW, especially if the battery is a little low, in wintertime, or flooded, etc, you need a hot spark for starting. So all these cars had a circuit DURING CRANK which bypassed the resistor.

GM, Ford, AMC did this with the starter solenoid. Ma did it right in the ignition switch, the infamous brown "IGN 2" circuit.

What this all boils down to, in a NORMAL vehicle with a ballast / coil combo, and with the system PROPERLY running / charging at 14V, the coil actually sees about 11-12V under some conditions.

In other words, you must be careful about proclaiming something as "12 volts"