You should check reviews of pawn shops in your area before purchasing. Yelp.com is a useful site that has customer opinions and reviews of most businesses. Don't walk into the shop and admit you don't know fake from the real deal. They might try to scam you. Most real gold made in America will have a stamp on it that indicates the karat value. However, some other countries don't have this stamp. Any type of markings like black spots will indicate fake gold. Real gold is heavy so if you have a ring the same size and one is lighter than the lighter one is made of fake gold or gold plated. Gold is not magnetic. You could also go to a gold exchange store and ask them if it is real.