All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes, a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king. - J.R.R. Tolkien
Treasure has been a staple of fantasy RPGs since the beginning, used as a tactile reward for slaying monsters and looting their hoards. The concept of a monster guarding a great treasure is a very old concept going back to the oldest recorded myths. But, having studied how medieval economies actually worked, the amazing amount of cash in most fantasy settings boggles the mind.
Remember that in Western Europe monies was fixed to the value of a pound of silver. In England, the Pound was divided into 20 shillings. Each Shilling was worth 12 pence. It should be noted that for most of the period pence were the only coins actually minted, with pounds and shillings being accounting units or measurements of silver bars. The penny was 1.5 grams of mostly-pure silver. If you managed to accumulate 320p you'd have a bag of coins weighing pretty close to one pound.
That's how coins worked. England and France used silver because they had access to silver mines. Gold becomes more common as you head east. Constantine introduced the Solidus, a nearly pure gold coin weighing a hefty 4.5 grams, in the early 4th century. After endless debasement by later emperors, it was replaced by the Hyperpyron in the 11th century. This coin was the same weight as the older coin but made with a lower gold content. It too could be divided into smaller coins, the number and value of these lesser coins changed over time.
The point of all this history is that generic gold pieces, and huge piles of them, simply aren't that good a reflection of history. In reality, if you showed up in Paris with 20 solidi in your pouch, the money changer would measure your coins by weight, and pay you in silver deniers. The actual value of your coins is dependant on the whims of the moneychangers.
So spice up those treasure hordes! An ancient tomb is likely to have ancient coins, which the moneychangers will happily weight and take their commission on. But trying to spend it? It's not real money to the innkeeper. He might take it in trade, but you'll get skinned. Historically, when large payments were made by nobles bars of precious metals were used. Far more likely that the dragon is sleeping on a pile of one-pound gold bars and silver plate than endless coins.
Which brings up another thing. No matter how it got there, a treasure is going to be a lot of things as opposed to money. Think of King Tut's burial site. Tons of gold things, some quite heavy, much of it covered in jewels you can pry off. But if the orc raiders have stolen a 7-foot marble and gold statue of a goddess, good luck getting it home! (This is where portable holes come in handy.)
Tapestries, art objects, amber panels, ivory thrones . . . in the medieval world wealth was generally tied up in things. Read the Nibelungenlied and you'll see that the wealth of various characters is shown through the ownership of rich clothing, and having more than one good shirt! A noble's good court tunic could be worth a king's ransom. Think about your treasures, and things will be more interesting than just accounting sheets filled with various generic coins.
Now we must consider magical treasures. I for one prefer low magic games. I like magic to be mysterious and dangerous. One standard trope for RPG settings is there was a distant magical golden age where all these amazing items were made, and then the age ended in some sort of cataclysm that left the items scattered to the four winds.
I'm good with this but make magic hard. In my view, and potent magic item required one hell of a lot of effort from the enchanter making it. So powerful magical items will be imbued with a cause or desire. As an example, in my world there is but one Vorpal Blade. It was forged long ago to deal with an ancient black dragon who could only be killed by decapitation. Assuming someone is lucky enough to find this legendary blade, it will work for him. But the blade will be drawn to combat black dragons. No matter what the risk.
To quote Gandalf, "There are many magic rings in this world, Bilbo Baggins, and none of them should be used lightly." Finding a magical item should raise not elation but caution among your players. I tend to be a bit restrictive on divination magic, so just understand what this ring/staff/helmet is could require a side quest to an ancient monastery to search their records. Of course, you get there to learn that something has been killing the monks one by one, and can the characters please help?
I'm an advocate of making the game fascinating at every turn. Going through the treasure list should be a part of the game that inspires the imagination as much as any other aspect. Oh, and when coming out of the tomb of King Arglebargle IV loaded down with loot? Be careful of the King's taxmen. They'll be waiting for you.
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