Gold Seal and Red Seal are street terms for certain types of "black" hashish, or cannabis resin found in the United Kingdom. Most "Black Hash" is either from Pakistan or Afghanistan, and is rarely identified by country of origin. It is distinguishable by its soft, oily texture, and its malleability - it can be squeezed and kneaded into different shapes, and even rolled into long "strings" which can be inserted into a joint without being heated.
More plentiful in the 80s and early 90s, before the huge shift toward Dutch skunk weed when it became available, the two Seals were a popular and affordable smoke at £13 (about $20) on average for an eighth of an ounce. Gold Seal (considered the stronger hash) came with a gold stamp of various designs on each nine ounce bar and Red Seal was wrapped in a dull red polythene.
Its method of manufacture involves rubbing the resinous tops of the cannabis plant with the hands, leather apron or other implements, allowing the resins to stick to the skin. These are then scraped off the skin or leather and rolled into lumps of various sizes, and later compressed into blocks. The colour is usually dark-brown to black on the surface, lighter in the interior.
Gold Seal also became known as Golfball in the early 90s when it started to appear with golf-ball-like circular indents on its surface.