Appius Claudius CensorinusSmith (1844), p. 665 was a fictitiousSyme, R., Ammianus and the Historia Augusta (1968), p. 157 usurper against Roman Emperor Claudius II, (in ca AD 269) according to the unreliable Historia Augusta. He is included in the list of the Thirty Tyrants.
It is claimed that he had a lengthy career, having served twice as a consul, twice as a praetorian prefect, thrice as a praefectus urbi, and four times as a proconsul. He served under Valerian in the Roman–Persian Wars and was wounded in combat. His wounds forced him to retire from military service. He was already an old man and long retired when the troops of Bononia revolted and proclaimed him an Augustus. He was killed by his own soldiers, because he enforced too strict discipline. His reign lasted only a few days.Smith (1844), p. 665
The entire account is a fabrication.Barnes, T. D., The sources of the Historia Augusta (1978), p. 69 His name and career are meant to reflect traditional Roman values, and may form part of the author's agenda when he wrote the Historia Augusta.Rohrbacher, D. The Play of Allusion in the Historia Augusta (2016), p. 118
Francisco Mediobarbo Birago, a 17th-century numismatist, reported the existence of a coin commemorating the 3rd year of Censorinus' reign. The lack of sources for such a coin make it likely that it was a forgery of some kind.Smith (1844), p. 665 Louis-Sébastien Le Nain de Tillemont suggested that Censorinus and Victorinus could be the same person.Smith (1844), p. 665
References
Sources
Weigel, Richard D., "Claudius II Gothicus (268-270)", De Imperatoribus Romanis