Sigh ...
In a 51 percent attack, someone takes over enough nodes to effectively dictate that their own version of the blockchain is accepted over the legitimate one. If that happens, it becomes possible to counterfeit bitcoins,
The risk of loss during a 51% attack is where coins are sent and then the attacker broadcasts blocks in which these funds are spent again. So the risk is double spending of the same funds. That is not counterfeiting where coins that are not legitimate are in circulation.
There's a big difference (though if you were the party that saw losses due to the double spend you might not care that there is a distinction).
