Konrad Bethmann

Konrad Bethmann or Conrad Bethmann (1652–1701) was a German administrator and entrepreneur serving secular and ecclesiastical authorities.

He was born in Goslar as the seventh child of the merchant Andreas Bethmann, four years after the Peace of Westphalia ended the Thirty Years' War. Much of Germany then was a patchwork of small to medium-sized jurisdictions. While this factor impeded development towards a nation-state, it ensured plentiful opportunities for ambitious bureaucrats and entrepreneurs.

After leaving his hometown, he first became Münzwardein in Dömitz (Mecklenburg), then was appointed in 1683 Münzmeister to the Princess of Nassau-Holzappel in Cramberg on the Lahn river, followed by his appointment in 1687 as Münzmeister (Master of the Mint) to the Teutonic Knights in Friedberg, and in 1692 as Münzmeister for the Archbishopric/Electorate of Mainz in Aschaffenburg.

Among the oldest items pertaining to the Bethmann family in the (online) archives of the city of Frankfurt is the file of a criminal complaint brought by Konrad in 1685 while he was in the employ of the House of Nassau. Under the rubric "Jew v. Out-of-towner", the archive summarizes the case as follows:

Conrad Bethmann, master of the mint for the Princely House of Nassau-Schaumburg, versus Mencke and Abraham zum Hecht (father and son), for theft of Schaumburg hellers in Schwalbach near Königstein and resale of stolen property. Defendants claim to have acquired the stolen coins in good faith. Arrest of Abraham, release on posting of 304  Reichsthalers bond. Out-of-court settlement of Abraham with bursars of Nassau-Schaumburg.
Contains: Medical opinion on state of health of arrestee Abraham zum Hecht; Legal opinion of the jurists.

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