φράγκο = franc, nowadays more generally money, especially in certain expressions.
After Alexander, Greece suffered many invasions. First it was the Romans (οι Ρωμαίοι), then the Franks (οι Φράγκοι), Venetians (οι Ενετοί or οι Βενετοί) and Turks (οι Τούρκοι); and their periods of rule in Greece are called η Φραγκοκρατία, η Ενετοκρατία and η Τουρκοκρατία respectively. These invaders also brought their coinage with them. In Salonica, City of Ghosts the author, Mark Mazower, mentions that when Salonica and the northern territories were reunited with Greece in 1913, the International Committee for Greek Debt Management refused to allow the Athens government to introduce the drachma into the newly acquired lands, so the northern provinces continued to use Ottoman currency. In 1913 Greece was still under external financial management following its 1893 bankruptcy. Conditions worsened after its defeat in the 1897 Greco-Turkish war when the country was forced to pay war reparations to the Ottoman Empire. These amounted to 4,000,000 lira, so the north continued to use the lira and the para (παράς, plural παράδες).
Until relatively recently, ‘Frank’ was used pejoratively to mean Roman Catholic, much in the same way as Orangemen in Scotland and Northern Ireland spit out the word ‘Papists’ today for Catholics. In Thessaloniki’s city centre there are two parallel streets, Frank St and Catholic St (Οδός Φράγκων and Οδός Καθολικών). The city’s only Catholic church, the Immaculate Conception (Ιερός Καθολικός Ναός Αμιάντου Συλλήψεως της Θεοτόκου), sits between the two, with its entrance on Frank St. I believe that the Church owns most of the property on both streets. It also ran the adjacent hospital until it was incorporated into the National Health Service in the 80s. Why were the Franks so despised?
Two dates are usually given for the Catholic-Orthodox schism, 1054 and 1204. The earlier dispute was to do with the “filioque phrase” in the Nicene Creed. Check it out here if you wish to explore it in greater detail. ( https://www.gotquestions.org/filioque-clause-controversy.html ). The real split, however, came in 1204 during the Fourth Crusade, which failed to reach Jerusalem. Instead, the Crusaders sacked Constantinople and installed a Catholic bishop. Even when the City was eventually taken by the Turks in 1453, such was the hatred for the Franks/Catholics that many Orthodox Christians felt the Sultan’s turban was preferable to the cardinal’s hat (κρειττότερον ἐστὶν εἰδέναι ἐν μέσῃ τῇ Πόλει φακιόλιον βασιλεῦον Τούρκου, ἢ καλύπτραν λατινικήν according to Wikipedia). An excellent account of the Frankish depredations can be found in The Fourth Crusade and the Sack of Constantinople by Jonathan Phillips. Anyway, back to money.
δεν έχω φράγκο, δεν έχω δεκάρα (1/10 of the old drachma) = I’m broke, as do είμαι άφραγκος and είμαι απένταρος (5/100 of a drachma). More positively, έχω παρά με ουρά means I’m loaded
To express indifference δεν δίνω φράγκο or δεν δίνω δεκάρα both mean I couldn’t care less.
And to say something is worthless, you can try δεν αξίζει φράγκο or δεν αξίζει δεκάρα.
Μy father-in-law used to ask us: πέφτει το παραδάκι; literally “Is the para dropping?” I assume “into the piggy bank” (μεσ’στον κουμπαρά) was the unspoken continuation.