Iron has two valence electrons. The atomic number or iron is 26, and it has 26 electrons and 26 protons. The electron configuration of iron is 1s22s22p63s23p63d64s2 or 2, 8, 14, 2 electrons per shell, so an atom of iron has two electrons in the outermost shell.
When an atom of iron loses the two electrons from the last shell, it has a valency of +2, and when it loses two electrons from the 4s subshell and one electron from the 3d subshell, it has a valency of +3.
Iron is a transition metal and is placed in group eight or d-block and period four of the periodic table of elements. The melting point of iron is 2,800 degrees Fahrenheit.
