yeah buying some gold would work 
But I would go with a cheap equivalent to start with, in case of loss.
Sorry by classification, I meant use a classifying sieve. Ideally one that fits nicely into your pan. Basically getting rid of larger rocks is very helpful when you start learning. Why that matters is it helps with the specific gravity differential of gold to “not gold” which is what panning etc. works by. Basically that means when whats in the pan is all a similar size, then the gold will be heavier goes to the bottom when you suspend the material.