David van der Kellen Sr.

According to van der Aa, he lost both parents at a young age and was brought up in the Lutheran orphanage in Haarlem.^[1] He chose to become a goldsmith and learned drawing, sculpting, and engraving, whereupon he went to work in Amsterdam for Holtzhey.^[1] According to the RKD he was a pupil of Johann Georg Holtzhey in Amsterdam.^[2] He made medals for special occasions as well as official coins and became the mint master for the city of Utrecht.^[2] He was the father and teacher of David Jr. who succeeded him.^[2]