| Though it would seem that this scroll's function is obvious, it's worth mentioning that a cursed scroll of gold detection will appear to detect gold on the level, but all "gold" piles so detected are actually traps.
Gold (actually, zorkmids) in NetHack is basically useless, thus, many players I know curse these scrolls on purpose because there is no "scroll of trap detection". This (cursed) scroll can save you a lot of trouble on the Elemental Planes late in the game, because the escape portals are counted as traps by the game.
Hey -- I guess you could even say that a cursed scroll of gold detection is actually a blessing in disguise!
*rim shot*
Hah, I just kill myself. | 
