If the levy be on coin or currency (including notes) made a legal tender for the payment of debts, the same shall be accounted for at its par value as so much money made under the execution. If it be upon coin or currency (including notes) not a legal tender for the payment of debts, and the creditor will not take them at their nominal value, they shall be sold and accounted for as any other property taken under execution.
§ 8.01-482.If levy be on coin or currency, how accounted for.
Chapter 18. Executions and Other Means of Recovery · Article 2. Lien in General · Last amended 1977 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceWhen an officer levies on legal-tender coin or currency, that money counts toward the execution at its face value as cash already collected, but coin or currency the creditor will not accept at face value — because it is not legal tender — must instead be sold and accounted for like any other seized property.
Full Text of § 8.01-482
Plain-English Summary
Levying on cash sounds like the simplest possible collection step, but Section 8.01-482 shows there is still a rule to apply. If the officer seizes coin or currency that qualifies as legal tender for paying debts, that money is accounted for at its par value — its face amount counts directly as money made under the execution, with no need for a separate sale.
Foreign currency, collectible coins, or other money that is not legal tender gets different treatment. If the creditor is unwilling to accept those items at their stated or nominal value, the officer cannot credit them at face value. Instead, they must be sold, and the proceeds accounted for the same way proceeds from any other property taken under execution would be handled.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is levied legal-tender currency accounted for?
It is accounted for at its par value as so much money made under the execution.
What if the levy captures currency that is not legal tender, like foreign or collectible money?
If the creditor will not take it at its nominal value, it must be sold and accounted for like any other property taken under execution.
Does the officer need to hold a sale for legal-tender currency that is levied on?
No, legal-tender currency is credited directly at par value rather than sold.
Who decides whether non-legal-tender currency gets accepted at face value?
The creditor decides; the section conditions the sale requirement on the creditor being unwilling to take the currency at its nominal value.
Does this section apply to bank notes?
Yes, the text specifically includes notes within both the legal-tender and non-legal-tender categories it addresses.
Amendment History
Code 1950, § 8-415; 1977, c. 617.
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Code of Virginia, published by the
Code of Virginia, Virginia Division of Legislative Automated Systems. Last verified July 16, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: levy on cash virginia executionhow is currency accounted for under execution virginia8.01-482 virginia codeseized coin currency judgment virginia