Florianus
Imperator Caesar Marcus Annius Florianus Augustus
Marcus Annius Florianus was the half-brother of Tacitus and assumed the throne on Tacitus's death without waiting for senatorial confirmation, a breach of protocol. He was challenged almost immediately by Probus, acclaimed in the East. Florianus marched to meet him in Asia Minor but his troops, suffering from the heat of the eastern summer while Probus avoided battle, lost faith and killed him. His reign of roughly eighty-eight days is one of the shortest of the third century.
Florianus's reign is a footnote in the narrative of third-century chaos, but his coins are a legitimate target for collectors building comprehensive sets of the period.
Key Events
Coinage
The coinage of Florianus is scarce but not extreme in its rarity. Struck over approximately three months, his issues follow the late Tacitean style with the antoninianus dominant. The PROVIDENTIA DEORVM and FIDES MILITVM types project imperial legitimacy he never truly possessed.
Denominations
Notable Types
- PROVIDENTIA DEORVM types
- FIDES MILITVM types
- LAETITIA FVND types
Common Reverses
Active Mints
Related Resources
Further Reading
- Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume V, Part II,
- Roman Coins and Their Values, Volume III,