Va. Code Ann. § 59.1-128

It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to barter, purchase, exchange, buy or accept from any person whomsoever, except the manufacturer thereof or his authorized agent, railroad, coal mining, industrial, manufacturing and public utility companies, or the authorized agents of such companies, governmental agencies, and licensed junk dealers, licensed scrap metal dealers, licensed electrical contractors and licensed merchants, any secondhand grooved or figure-eight copper trolley wire, bare or insulated heavy stranded copper or aluminum feeder wire, high voltage copper or aluminum transmission wire, or bare or insulated mining machine copper cables.