If all prices in South Africa were suddenly quoted in different units — rands for goods, US dollars for services, and gold for property — what would be the immediate economic consequence?

The question describes a situation where different categories of goods and services are priced using different units: rands for goods, US dollars for services, and gold for property. This directly impacts one of the fundamental functions of money.

Let's analyze the functions of money:

• Medium of exchange: Money facilitates transactions, allowing people to buy and sell goods and services without bartering. In the given scenario, you could still use rands for goods, dollars for services, and gold for property, so the medium of exchange function isn't entirely lost, though it becomes fragmented.
• Unit of account: Money provides a common measure of value. It allows us to compare the value of different goods and services, and to sum up economic activity. If different items are priced in different, unrelated units, it becomes impossible to easily compare their values or to calculate total wealth or income in a single, consistent measure. For example, how many haircuts (priced in dollars) is a car (priced in rands) worth?
• Store of value: Money can be saved and used to purchase goods and services in the future. While the value of each unit (rand, dollar, gold) might fluctuate, the ability to store value isn't the primary function affected by the different units of pricing.
• Limited supply characteristic: This refers to the control over the quantity of money in circulation, which affects its value. The scenario doesn't describe a change in the supply of rands, dollars, or gold, but rather how they are used for pricing.

The immediate and most significant consequence of having different pricing units for different categories of items is that money would no longer serve as a universal standard for measuring value. This is precisely the definition of money failing as a unit of account.

The final answer is $\boxed{\text{C. Money would fail as a unit of account.}}$.