What is a Counterfeit?
A quick internet search of the different dictionaries available online provided a well-rounded description of the term we are using in this section.
Something made in imitation of something else with intent to deceive : counterfeit money, a counterfeit diamond
Insincere or feigned: counterfeit sympathy
Imitation: counterfeit Georgian houses
Something likely to be mistaken for something of higher value
According to the Online Etymology Dictionary (etymonline.com) we have a verb, and an adjective form of this word
counterfeit(v.)
c. 1300, countrefeten, "pretend to be," from countrefet (adj.), Old French contrefait "imitated" (Modern French contrefait), past participle of contrefaire "imitate," from contre- "against" (see contra-) + faire "to make, to do" (from Latin facere "to make, do," from PIE root *dhe- "to set, put").
From late 14c. as "assume, simulate" (a feeling, quality, etc.); also "to make a copy of, imitate without authority or right," especially with a view to deceive or defraud. Medieval Latin contrafactio meant "setting in opposition or contrast." Related: Counterfeited; counterfeiting.
counterfeit(adj.)
late 14c. (late 13c. in Anglo-French), countrefet, "spurious, forged, made in semblance of an original with a view to defraud," also "feigned, simulated, hypocritical," from Old French contrefait "imitated" (Modern French contrefait), past participle of contrefaire "imitate," from contre- "against" (see contra (prep., adv.)) + faire "to make, to do" (from Latin facere "to make, do," from PIE root *dhe- "to set, put").
As a noun, "an imitation or copy designed to pass as an original," late 14c., from the adjective.
Conclusion
A counterfeit is a deceptive, intentional attempt to imitate something of genuine value, with the goal of stealing something, cheating someone, or replacing that which is true. It never happens by accident. Nobody creates a counterfeit without knowing they intend to deceive in some way. The counterfeit will resemble the real thing of value, but it will have none of the value itself. When passed along knowingly, with intent to deceive the recipient, a counterfeit can then be ignorantly passed on to another, thus increasing the number of people deceived. I don’t overlook the words “simulated” and “hypocritical” in the adjective form.