Document and Entity Information - shares	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2016	Apr. 29, 2016
Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	NACCO INDUSTRIES INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000789933
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2016
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Amendment Flag	false
Shares Outstanding Class A
Entity Information [Line Items]
Shares Outstanding (in shares)		5,307,743
Shares Outstanding Class B
Entity Information [Line Items]
Shares Outstanding (in shares)		1,571,528