I'm leaning toward not suppressing the information by using some extra objects (could use the same ones as the interface would I guess, though there are all sorts of ways to think about it).
Can't you just create a new "stack" container that would be created by stacking two objects of the same types (bolts, coins, ...) and destroyed when it contains only one object? It would otherwise act the same way as any other container, meaning the different bolts/coins would still exist on their own and thus keep their informations.
We could examine a stack and then examine each object as if they were in a barrel, but most of the time we would just see "gold coins stack(26)".
Stacks would be created by a "stacking" job or automatically when two same-kind objects are in the same container (drop a coin in your bag when there's already another one and a stack is created ; put a bolt in your quiver when there's another creates a stack).
Otherwise, a stack wouldn't have any weight or information by itself : only the common weight of what it contains, and would display only informations that are shared by all of what it contains. This way there could be a <<*steel bolts stack (37)*>> and then if you put in the quiver a
<<steel bolt>> the stack would become a <<steel bolts stack (38)>>. Their quality isn't displayed anymore, but when a bolt is taken out the quiver when you crook the crossbow, the quality of the bolt is still taken into account.
Sorry to have brought it back, but I feared I would forget it. I thought it could be useful. I'm gonna edit and give my two cents about fire in a few minutes.
EDIT : I think torches should be made by groups. A torch requiring one wood seems too much for me, remember a whole tree is cut down for 1 wood. It should be enough for 20 or even 30 torches.
Anyway torches and campfires would have two states (lit and unlit). I honestly don't know what to think of needing or not needing something to lit them. When water reaches 1/7 at a campfire tile, it'd go out. Same for mural torches with 4/7 (if dwarves start swimming, then it means water is likely to be higher than a dwarf is tall, and torches are usually placed the same height as the head).
A campfire placed outside when raining would have more chances to go out. It'd need someone to look after it so it stays lit. Perhaps torches could also turn out when under the rain.
Also, perhaps we should have (in adventurer mode) an option to stick 2 objects next to each other, in the complex [ I ]nteraction menu. The hotter one would slowly (or not) heat the colder one until the ladder reaches the temperature of the first.
This way we could lit our mittens with our torch then throw it on that nasty GCS.