As several people may already know... I usually eschew money in favour of 'interesting items'... for a few reasons...
Items are usually easier to carry around than several sacks of gold. Jewellery and gemstones especially... and I personally like shiny gemstones...
Some could be tied to quests, if they decide to search out the item's origin...
Without an Identify Magic scroll or similarly prepared spellcaster, they could be considered puzzles to solve to figure out how they work... and I like giving small hints. Plus... an 'interesting item' doesn't have to be magical.
And if misuse of one of the 'more-interesting items' results in hazards to players that may or may not include death... that can't possibly be my fault, can it?
Just my own thoughts hehe
Oh, on another note, if players are smart and
really want the moneys, and one of their characters has good communication skills... chances are they just maybe could find an avid collector for their 'interesting item' that would be happy to reimburse them for adding to their collection...