Mined Coal vs RAL 850-5
Where Mined Coal belongs to Behr's range, RAL 850-5 is a RAL Effect color. These are both greys, so the question isn't which hue to choose — it's where within grey to land. They have nearly identical light reflectance values (15 vs 14), so they'll read as similarly Dark in most lighting conditions. At ΔE 2.0, these are close — the kind of difference that matters when choosing between them, but doesn't read strongly in a finished room. Below you'll find 3 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Mined Coal vs RAL 850-5 in Real Spaces
3 real rooms side by side. Mined Coal and RAL 850-5 are close enough that the difference can be hard to judge from a chip alone — these photos show how each reads at scale, across different spaces and lighting conditions.
Living Room
In a living room, color works across both daylight and evening light — the same wall can read very differently at noon and at 8pm. The two are close enough that the choice comes down to finer qualities — undertone, texture, what the color sits next to.
Bathroom
Bathrooms are one of the few spaces where you're genuinely enclosed by the paint color, which makes the choice between these two more consequential. At this scale the difference is subtle — you'd need them side by side, as shown here, to reliably tell them apart.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. At this scale the difference is subtle — you'd need them side by side, as shown here, to reliably tell them apart.
Color Details
Mined Coal vs RAL 850-5 Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Mined Coal on one side and RAL 850-5 on the other.
Digital color is approximate. These simulations are generated from the manufacturer's hex values and overlaid on grayscale room photos — your screen's calibration, brightness, and viewing angle all affect how they render. Before committing to either color, test physical samples in your own space under the light you actually live with.
More Mined Coal comparisons
See how Mined Coal stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
Ammonite reflects far more light (LRV 69 vs 15), opening up a space where Mined Coal encloses it.
At LRV 83 vs 15, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
A 9-point LRV gap (15 vs 6) makes Mined Coal the marginally brighter of the two.
Purbeck Stone reflects far more light (LRV 52 vs 15), opening up a space where Mined Coal encloses it.
Evergreen Fog reflects far more light (LRV 30 vs 15), opening up a space where Mined Coal encloses it.
At LRV 52 vs 15, Mizzle is decisively the brighter choice.
Agreeable Gray reflects far more light (LRV 60 vs 15), opening up a space where Mined Coal encloses it.
At LRV 58 vs 15, Accessible Beige is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 27 vs 15, Denim Drift is decisively the brighter choice.
French Gray reflects far more light (LRV 43 vs 15), opening up a space where Mined Coal encloses it.
Mined Coal reads slightly lighter (LRV 15 vs 4), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 55 vs 15, Tranquil Dawn is decisively the brighter choice.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 15 vs 13), so neither reads brighter in a room.
At LRV 44 vs 15, Hardwick White is decisively the brighter choice.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 15), opening up a space where Mined Coal encloses it.
Artichoke reads slightly lighter (LRV 21 vs 15), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 66 vs 15, Balboa Mist is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 74 vs 15, Shoji White is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 83 vs 15, Snowbound is decisively the brighter choice.
Pigeon reflects far more light (LRV 51 vs 15), opening up a space where Mined Coal encloses it.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 15 vs 12), so neither reads brighter in a room.
A 7-point LRV gap (15 vs 8) makes Mined Coal the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 68 vs 15, Skimming Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
Dix Blue reflects far more light (LRV 41 vs 15), opening up a space where Mined Coal encloses it.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 15 vs 12), so neither reads brighter in a room.
At LRV 45 vs 15, Saybrook Sage is decisively the brighter choice.
Pale Green reflects far more light (LRV 31 vs 15), opening up a space where Mined Coal encloses it.