Is gold only used for sacrificing?
Solution 1:
I asked the developer, and he said gold is only used for sacrificing in Fargoal.
Currently (like the original game) that's the primary use of gold. Helps you gain levels of experience!
Solution 2:
In addition to gaining experience from sacrificing gold you will also gain an Enchanted Weapon +1 for every 1000 x DL of gold sacrificed on a given DL (Dungeon Level). If you want, you can keep returning to the first DL after collecting gold to gain several Enchanted Weapons +1 until you get bored with it.