When a proceeding before a court is on a penal bond, with condition for the payment of money, the jurisdiction shall be determined as if the undertaking to pay such money had been without a penalty. And when jurisdiction depends on the amount of a judgment, if it be on such a bond, the jurisdiction shall be determined by the sum, payment whereof will discharge the judgment.
Code 1950, § 8-3; 1977, c. 617.