What's a lid?

[At8fates]

The word lid referred to coffee can's plastic lid. Originally dealers kept their product "fresh" in coffee cans. They would take off the lid and pile product on top. All that could fit on top without falling off was "one lid". After that baggies (there was only one type of sandwich bag back then) became the measuring tool. The dealer would put product in the bag. You would hold the filled bag, open end up, pinching it between your thumb and index finger. If all your fingers hid behind the product it was a four finger lid. If only three finger hid it was a three finger lid. Later on dealers started using scales to weigh the product.

So far, this is the most correct answer...in fact you can't get any more correct.
Might I also add that there were no such things as "four finger lids" and so on.
A lid was a lid was a lid.
If it happened to equal out to four fingers (or an ounce, or whatever the f#%%# you wanted to call it) then call it what you will.
You didn't go out looking for "an ounce" , you were going out to score a lid.

Peace.

 

[TwitchVee]

A lid is a zip is an oz is 28 grams, wha-la

 

[TwitchVee]

a 'lid' cause that's what you'd fill a 32 ozz ball jar with before you stick a lid on it and flip it by the zip.

 

[Rad]

Right. that's what we would get in the seventies. I was too young sooner then that. it was a very long time ago.

Started in 69’-70 lid was four fingers 10-15$
One finger was nickel, two was dime for smaller quantities, I mean junior high school not too many had more than 5-10 bucks went to Germany in 74 all the smokers had a scale hash was 2$ a gram for small 100$ for a plate (100 grams) buy a plate sell half at 2$ a gram smoke the other half. Everyone was happy! If we only had some Redbud again.

 

[alycecramden]

wait, when they weighted the weed, they put it on the actual lid of the coffee can, or the little thing they took off that are on like the ones on soda cans? four fingers of pot? that makes no sense to me

Thanks for putting up what I was looking for. Urban dictionary is great. I was just trying to remember, from back in the day, what four fingers was. I thought it was a once. I was right. I always thought of the four fingers from a sandwich baggie. As for scales, people usually had food/postage scales, which didn’t go smaller than a once. You’d have to buy the balancing scales and find weights with grams and ect. In this digitable world, my food weighing scales weights anything. That’s not too big. It’s easy peasy now.

 

[tav]

I think its an outdated term, none of my friends or dealers have ever used it, but I remember hearing it quite a bit in Cheech and Chong sketchs. Just curious.

A lid was 3 fingers and an oz was 4

 

[Bozah]

wait, when they weighted the weed, they put it on the actual lid of the coffee can, or the little thing they took off that are on like the ones on soda cans? four fingers of pot? that makes no sense to me

A lid was the top of a Prince Albert tobacco can. The can could be used to store your weed and carry it with you. The top gave you about an Oz.

 

[Bozah]

A lid was the top of a Prince Albert tobacco can. The can could be used to store your weed and carry it with you. The top gave you about an Oz.

Sorry, I'm getting old. The can contain about an ounce. The lid was about an eighth.

 

[BeccaBuds]

I flipped my lid a long time ago!
Early 70's to my recollection a lid was a plastic sandwich bag filled 4-fingers deep with buds, when laid flat on a table. Intent was to make it an ounce bag but back then seedier bags were smaller. Bags from seedy dealers even smaller.

 

[Airnailer]

Haha I think everyone is more confused than I was. OBM, sounds like you knew something, wanna help us out?

I was at Woodstock, and got thrown in jail for getting on stage with stones, San Diego 69. I have always been told that it was the lid from a 1pound tobacco can. I was not a huge pothead as I preferred hash and acid. It always made sense to me though, as a 1 pound tobacco can, had a big screw on lid, they were in common use and were easy to pack around.

 

[Canachris]

I think they'd just fill the lid with bud and throw it in a bag.

But about what does that weigh? 1/4? 1/8?

Back in the day the guy/gal you were buying from sold bags by sight. a 1/4oz was a nickel bag 1finger a dine bag was a 1/2 oz and a lid was a oz. a nickel bag cost 5 bucks a dime 10 bucks and a lid was 20 bucks. There was no actual bud and a lot of seeds an twigs.

 

[Plbgbuttcrack]

Coming from the 70's, a lid was usually 4 fingers width (using your own 4 fingers.) and it typically measured out to be an ounce. This was measured in a plastic sandwhich baggie. It was not that the dealer was not weighing out his product, but usually a buyer didn't carry a scale.. so the 4 fingers was a basic equivalent .. you could eyeball your bag and know that you were pretty much on the mark. Now, for that. $10.00!!! Today.. 1/8th is $45 where I am from... and back then they had all kinds of interesting names just like they do today...

However, let's also keep in mind that back in the 70's, shake/stems/seeds would be included in your "lid" for $10.00... today's bags.. holy cow.. a whole lot different.. pure bud.. minimal stems.. hardly any seeds at all...

My current favorites are "train wreck" and "pineapple express".. goodness gracious.. that'll put you on your butt!

So for those who were wondering about the "lid".. I don't know about any coffee can lids for measuring... but I do know for a fact that a 4 finger lid was about an oz and it was $10.00... early 70's fact not fiction!

Brings back memories having to use the fingers

 

[STONEY Brook 72]

Back in the ‘60’s, I recall that an ounce was an ounce and a lid was two-thirds of an ounce. One-third ounce was a dime ($10), half of that was a nickel. In those days (hard as it is to believe now), ten bucks was a considerable amount of money. We had scales then, too. It wasn’t exactly the Stone Age. Well, in some ways it was! (Ha ha). I had a little scale for weighing pieces of mail. Fit in a pocket. Went up to an ounce and a half but was only accurate (?) up to an ounce. I’d forgotten those baggies with the fold over tops ‘til somebody above mentioned them. Who’d have thought?

 

[Bertram]

Before there was a lid, there was a match box in the 50's. They were Diamond safety match boxes
measuring 3 inch by 2 inch by 1/2 inch thick filled with pot. It would be about an eighth of an ounce.
After the matchbox came the lid in the 60's. A sandwich bag with one to three inches of pot cost as
low as $8 up to $20 depending on quality and size. Panama Red and Acapulco Gold were top quality.

 

[oneoldmanweed]

I believe a lid 9 g of marijuana.
In between a quarter ounce and a half ounce which would have been between 7 and 14 g.
Knuckleheads