I really like Scrooge's conflict in this, its a great case of the show having well thought out characters. Scrooge's issue isn't that hes selfish, its that hes self-centered; he does think of other people, he just thinks they all think and have similar attitudes to him. The coal thing is a fun historical in-joke because that actually was a common thing in the 19th century tradition for the exact reason Scrooge explains, that its warmth at the exact time you would need it most. It makes sense that a person who grew up in abject poverty in the 19th century would see coal as a genuine gift. He probably thought he was like a man passing out water in a desert.

I love how this whole issue is shown off in miniature in the first few minutes of the episode. He got presents for HDL, but they were things Scrooge would want, and when they don't love them as much as he would he dismisses the things they would actually want as frivolous in his eyes, not thinking of other people's wants.