I would like to occasionally scrape up a pile of gold and find a piece of loot hidden underneath. Not every single time, just often enough that I don't want to leave any pile of gold behind because MAYBE there's something underneath it. At the moment, I see a pile of gold and I know it's going to be worth between 150, and 1200 gold, and I know that's not worth my time to pick up.
If I see a ship on the horizon I know staying behind to pick up the gold is definitely not worth the risk. I think it would add to the excitement (and also feel more "piratey") if I had to make a snap judgement whether to frantically scrape up the piles of gold before getting back to my ship because you never know what you're leaving behind.
