This is an old way of writing 铁 (iron), still used in Japanese.
Tips
history
鉄 is an old variant of 铁 (traditional 铁 is written 鐵) and the standard Japanese form. It is not used in modern Chinese — always write 铁. There is also a rare reading zhì where it stands for 紩 (to stitch).
register
Variant form only — seen in old printing and Japanese, not in modern Chinese writing.
Components
radical
釒jīn
metal; gold (left-side radical, full form)
The left side is the full left-hand metal radical, the older shape of 钅 (from 金). It marks 鉄 as a metal — iron — exactly as in the modern 铁.
Right side 失 is the sound element in this variant, drifting from shī to tiě. The modern 铁 keeps the same 失 phonetic; it contributes no 'lose' meaning here.
