I got a 74 beetle the coil got hot and stop working the coil was in for about 3 weeks

What coil was it?

no name it black just a date 20 12 03

It may be the wrong type of coil or it could be wired incorrectly.

Try and get a Bosch coil. Also, check if connector 15 on the coil(should be black wire) is connected to your auto choke/Reverse light switch and that connector 1 on the coil is connected to the condenser (should be a green wire). Check and make sure all connections are tight and no bare wires. You may also want to check your condenser and points.

Hot coil can cause you grief.

Hope this helps.

VW's use a non resistor coil.
Resistor coils usually have 'use with resistor' on them somewhere.
I have one here which has it on a paper label which is falling off.
It has 12R stamped on the bottom.

The coil on the bench from my beetle has 12V stamped on it
Otherwise they look the same.

The only way to know for sure is to measure the resistance.
Measure between terminals 1 & 15 (the two little bolts where the wires bolt on) with an ohmmeter.
It should measure 3.1 to 3.3 ohms (or thereabout)
A resistor coil has only 1.6 ohms.

I have removed the wrong coil from several VW's recently.
It's an easy mistake to make if you are not aware of the difference.