I made a few coasters before work today. They look better than the picture shows. I finished them with spray shellac. I don't really care for that. Maybe I need to work with it a little more.
Looking good, Brian. I'd suggest putting a different finish over the sprayed shellac, since shellac is not very durable and it can be dissolved with alcohol. Fortunately, dewaxed shellac (which is what spray shellac is) makes a good base coat under other finishes. I'd recommend applying one or more coats of something like wipe-on polyurethane as a finish coat.
+1 on the minwax spray poly. Sand the shellac with some higher grit sandpaper to knock down any grain and use it at the seal coat, then should bet a nice smooth finish on the poly.