There are good reasons S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) coal share New Hope Corp Ltd (ASX: NHC) has been popular among passive income investors in recent years.

As coal prices broke into all-time high territory, New Hope found itself on the vaunted list of the top ASX 200 dividend stocks in both 2022 and 2023 as it shared out mammoth profits with investors.

With coal prices coming back to earth in 2023, New Hope's dividends also declined from their own record highs.

But coal prices stabilised in mid-2023 and have been trending higher since late February this year.

And with spot prices still well above New Hope's costs to mine, process, and sell its coal, New Hope shares remain a favourite among passive income investors today for their market-beating yields.

So, just how much dividend income can we earn by investing $10,000 in New Hope shares today?

We'll get to that in just a tick.

But first…

It may seem like this goes without saying. But in danger of expounding upon the obvious, past yields do not guarantee future yields.

With forecast yields relying on analysts' best guesses of what the months ahead may hold, the yields you generally see quoted are trailing yields.

The passive income any given dividend stock will pay in the future depends on a range of company-specific and macroeconomic factors. This means dividend payouts from companies like New Hope could be higher or lower than the trailing yields we look at below.

Now, with resilient global coal demand (particularly in the world's two most populous nations, China and India), I believe the coal price will hold up well over the coming year. But only time will tell for sure.

That said, let's look at what dividends we might expect from New Hope if we bought $10,000 worth of shares today.

On 7 November, the ASX 200 coal miner paid a fully franked final dividend of 30 cents per share.

The interim dividend of 17 cents per share will hit eligible shareholders' bank accounts on 1 May. It's a bit too late to grab that one, though, as New Hope shares traded ex-dividend on 15 April.

This equates to a full-year passive income payout of 47 cents per share, with potential tax benefits from those franking credits.

At market close on Friday, New Hope shares were trading for $4.67 apiece.

Meaning we could buy 2,141 shares with our $10,000, leaving enough change left over for a burger at Macca's.

Based on the trailing yields, that would earn us a very tidy $1,068.27 in annual dividend income.

And, of course, we'll be hoping to see the New Hope share price charge higher over the year as well.